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Canada and the Philippines, both staunch critics of China’s increasingly coercive actions in the disputed South China Sea, signed a key defense agreement on Sunday to boost combat drills and expand security alliances to deter aggression, officials said.

Canada and other Western nations have been bolstering their military presence in the Indo-Pacific to help promote the rule of law and expand trade and investment in the region. The strategy dovetails with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ’s efforts to build defense ties with other countries to help the Philippines’ underfunded military face a militarily superior China in the disputed waters.

There was no immediate comment from China, which has accused the Philippines of being a “troublemaker” and a “saboteur of regional stability” following joint patrols and combat drills with the United States and other countries in the South China Sea.

Beijing claims the waterway, a major trade route, virtually in its entirety, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated those claims based on a 1982 U.N. convention.

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