Thousands of Filipino and troops launched joint exercises in the northern and western Philippines on Tuesday, after China held huge drills around Taiwan and a Chinese vessel collided with a Filipino patrol boat.

The Philippines said a Chinese maritime militia vessel “deliberately sideswiped” and caused minor damage on a government fisheries boat in the South China Sea amid lingering tensions between the two nations in the disputed waters.

The armed forces of the United States and Philippines began large-scale joint exercises with key allies on Tuesday that will take place in several areas in the Philippines, including those facing Taiwan and the South China Sea.