Philippine defense officials said on Sunday that they have discussed the possibility of Australian forces joining large-scale combat exercises between Filipino and American troops in the country. The Australian forces’ possible inclusion in the annual “Balikatan” exercises, which involve thousands of American and Filipino troops, would expand the US-Philippine drills that have infuriated China whenever they were held in the past near the South China Sea. China and five other Asian countries have been locked in territorial disputes in the potentially oil-rich region.—AP