Global Courant 2023-04-11 14:07:04
MANILA — The Philippines and the United States on Tuesday launched their largest joint military exercise in 38 years, including a rocket-bombing exercise in the South China Sea, as tensions flare over Beijing’s mounting military aggression in the region.
Leading military officials from the two nations attended the opening ceremony of the 38th Exercise Balikatan at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Headquarters in Manila.
Balikatan means “shoulder to shoulder” in Tagalog. The war games run until April 28.
Officials said a major highlight of the military exercise are the live-firing naval exercises to be held on April 26, about 12 nautical miles off the coast of Zambales, a province near the South China Sea, waters in which Beijing and Manila compete with each other. claims.
A decommissioned Philippine Navy ship will be bombed with missiles and missiles by both the US and the Philippines to demonstrate the maritime defense capabilities of the old military allies.
“It shows that we are proficient in the use of combined arms and joint capabilities. We show that we are ready for battle. We have the capability to fire at a target from land, air and sea,” said Colonel Michael Logico, AFP spokesman for Balikatan.
He added that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will attend the live demonstration and that he was excited to see the Philippine and American armed forces in action.
The annual war games will be held in key areas of the Philippines, including some provinces such as Zambales and Palawan, whose coastlines are only hundreds of miles from the South China Sea and Taiwan.
Balikatan will involve more than 17,600 soldiers — 12,200 from the US and 5,400 from the Philippines — making it the largest iteration of the war games to date, at a time when China ramps up its military activity in the region.
Australia is also deploying more than 100 soldiers to Balikatan, while allied countries such as Japan, India, Canada and Britain are sending military observers.
The Philippine Coast Guard continues to monitor dozens of suspected Chinese militia vessels in the eastern parts of the South China Sea, which lie within Manila’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The country calls this area the West Philippine Sea.
The increased surveillance comes as eight Chinese naval vessels remain in the waters around Taiwan, despite the end of three days of war games held by China in the wake of a meeting last week between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and the chairman of the National Assembly. US House of Representatives. Kevin McCarthy in California.
Experts have said that due to its geographical location, the Philippines risks being caught in the crossfire if tensions over Taiwan escalate.