ANKARA Naval forces from the US, the Philippines, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia conducted joint drills in the disputed South China Sea, amid growing regional tensions, official and local media reported Saturday. The exercises, known as the 4th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity, took place within an unspecified area of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, according to a statement from the US Indo-Pacific Command. "The U.S., along with our allies and