The Philippines and the United States will hold their largest ever joint military exercises next month, Philippine and U.S. officials said Tuesday, as the longtime allies seek to counter China’s growing regional influence.
A total of 17,680 soldiers will take part in the annual drills, which for the first time will include live-fire exercises in the disputed South China Sea and a simulated defense of a tiny Philippine island nearly 300 kilometers south of Taiwan.

The countries will also stage an amphibious landing on the …