ISLAMABAD
\nThe Philippines and the United States have launched their largest-ever joint military exercises, as the longstanding allies seek to counter growing Chinese assertiveness in the region.
\nNearly 18,000 troops are taking part in the annual exercises dubbed Balikatan, or \u201cshoulder to shoulder\u201d launched on Tuesday in Filipino, which for the first time will include a live-fire drill in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely.
\nThe drills follow Monday\u2019s conclusion of a three-day Chinese military exercise that simulated targeted strikes and a blockade of self-ruled, democratic Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.
\nBalikatan will include military helicopters landing on a Philippine island off the northern tip of the main island of Luzon, nearly 300 kilometres (180 miles) from Taiwan, and the retaking of another island by amphibious forces.
\nIt will be the first time the exercises have been held under President Ferdinand Marcos, who has sought to strengthen ties with the United States after his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte trashed the alliance.
\n\u201cIn order for us to protect our sovereign territory, we really have to drill and exercise how we are going to retake an island that\u2019s been taken away from us,\u201d Philippine exercises spokesman Colonel Michael Logico told reporters after the opening ceremony at a military camp in Manila.
\nIn recent months, Manila and Washington have agreed to restart joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea and struck a deal to expand the US forces\u2019 footprint in the Philippines, which has infuriated China.
\nUS troops will be allowed to use an additional four Philippine military bases under the pact, including a naval base not far from Taiwan.
\nThe Philippines\u2019 proximity to the island could potentially make it a key US partner in the event of a Chinese invasion.
\nAt a joint news conference Tuesday, both armies did not address questions about the Taiwan tensions and a possible role for the Philippines if China invaded Taiwan.
\nNews of the expanded base access had prompted China to accuse the United States of \u201cendangering regional peace and stability\u201d.
\n\u201cCountries in this part of the world must uphold strategic independence and firmly resist the Cold-War mentality and bloc confrontation,\u201d China\u2019s ambassador to Manila, Huang Xilian, said last week.
\nAbout 12,200 American, 5,400 Filipino and just over 100 Australian soldiers will participate in the two weeks of Balikatan exercises – about twice as many as last year.
\nAbout 50 leftwing protesters staged a rally outside the opening ceremony venue, calling on the Philippine government to scrap the exercises.
\nAs part of the exercises, troops will stage an amphibious landing on the western island of Palawan, the closest Philippine landmass to the Spratly Islands, where Beijing and Manila have rival claims.
\nThe Americans will also use their Patriot missiles, considered one of the best air defence systems in the world, and the HIMARS precision rocket system, which has helped Ukrainian forces fight the Russians.
\nThe two armies originally planned to fire live rounds at sea off the northern province of Ilocos Norte, about 355 kilometres from Taiwan\u2019s south coast, but later on, had to move it further down the South China Sea, Philippine Army Major-General Marvin Licudine said.
\nThe original site was \u201cnot sufficiently prepared\u201d for unloading the needed equipment, he added.
\nThe new venue is less than 300 kilometres east of the Chinese-held Scarborough Shoal.
\nThe exercises will enhance \u201ctactics, techniques and procedures across a wide range of military operations,\u201d said Philippine military spokesman Colonel Medel Aguilar.
\nSoon after the opening ceremony in Manila, the Philippine defence and foreign ministers will jointly meet their US counterparts in Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The Philippines and the United States have launched their largest-ever joint military exercises, as the longstanding allies seek to counter growing Chinese assertiveness in the region. Nearly 18,000 troops are taking part in the annual exercises dubbed Balikatan, or \u201cshoulder to shoulder\u201d launched on Tuesday in Filipino, which for the first time will include […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-325265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n