Defense chiefs of the Philippines, the United States, Japan and Australia will meet again in the first week of May for security talks that come shortly after troops from four nations held maritime drills in the West Philippine Sea.

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gibo Teodoro will sit down with his counterparts, namely: Lloyd Austin of the US, Kihara Minoru of Japan and Richard Marles of Australia for their second trilateral ministerial defense meeting.

Their engagement will be held on May 2 in Hawaii, where Austin will also preside over US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) Change of Command, the US Defense Department said in an advisory.

This follows the recent Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) among Filipino, American, Japanese and Australian forces in the West Philippine Sea in a show of force amid China’s aggression in the waters.

According to the US Defense Department, the four officials will meet again to "discuss ways to deepen defense and security ties among the four countries."

"Secretary Austin will travel to Hawaii as the United States, together with allies and partners, continues to deliver historic momentum toward a shared regional vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," it added.

Recently, President Marcos, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met at the White House for a historic trilateral meeting, where they formalized military partnership amid developments at sea.

They said their nations' Coast Guards will collaborate even further within the next year "to improve interoperability and advance maritime security and safety."

They also said they will advance their defense trilateral cooperation through combined naval training and exercises among themselves with other partners.

Australia, meanwhile, has recently been more active in engaging with Indo-Pacific nations as it shares the Philippines' concerns, likewise a maritime nation, over situation at sea.