Philippine defence chief says regional allies working on "one-theatre" for East, South China seas

Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Philippines has extended its arc of alliances beyond the United States, its traditional ally, signing defence deals with Japan and New Zealand, and negotiating for similar agreements with Canada and France.

On Monday, the Philippines and Lithuania signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen defence cooperation in areas like cyber security, maritime security and munitions production.

"The interesting thing is that we're facing absolutely similar threats and our hostile neighbours are using absolutely similar approach," Lithuanian defence minister Dovile Sakaliene said in the joint briefing with Teodoro.

(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by David Stanway)