Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks beside Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo during a joint press conference at a hotel in Makati City, Philippines on Thursday May 18, 2023. (Lisa Marie David/Pool Photo via AP)Lisa Marie David/AP

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Australia will provide surveillance drones and other high-tech gear to the Philippine coast guard and is considering whether to take part in joint patrols in the disputed South China Sea, Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday.

Wong, who held talks in Manila with her counterpart, Enrique Manalo, also thanked the Philippine government for its help in the discovery of a ship that sank during World War II in the northern Philippines, killing nearly a thousand Australians “in a very sad chapter in our history."