Thousands of Philippine and US soldiers began annual war games yesterday, the first under a new security pact with the US, focusing on maritime security in the face of China’s growing naval presence in the disputed South China Sea.
The “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) joint exercises would test the combat readiness of the two allies in this part of the world to respond to any maritime threats, including piracy and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
The new security pact was signed last week just hours before US President Barack Obama visited.
Photo: EPA
Obama said the agreement was a testament to Washington’s “pivot” to Asia and was an “ironclad” commitment to defend the Philippines.
The Philippines has territorial disputes with China over the South China Sea, which is said to be rich in energy deposits and carries about US$5 billion in ship-borne trade every year.
The Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea are also claimed by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
“Tensions in the Asia-Pacific region have increased due to excessive and expansive maritime and territorial claims, undermining the rule of law,” Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said at the opening ceremony at the main army base in Manila.
“The aggressive patterns of behavior aimed at changing the status quo threaten peace and stability in the region. Balikatan 2014, with its focus on maritime security, strongly supports our capabilities to address these challenges,” he said.
Asked about the exercises, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said all sides needed to work “constructively” to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
On Saturday, a Philippine Navy plane dropped food and water to troops stationed on a transport ship that ran aground on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the South China Sea.
Chinese coast guard ships have set up a blockade around the shoal.
Nearly 5,500 US and Filipino troops are taking part in the two-week drills in different parts of the main island of Luzon.
The war games are to see US F-18 fighters rehearse bombing runs and troops involved in live fire drills.
Under a new security pact, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, signed last week during Obama’s visit, the US is to have wider access to local bases and construct facilities to store supplies and equipment for 10 years in exchange for increased support on maritime security and humanitarian assistance.
The annual war games come under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, part of a web of security alliances the US built in the Asia-Pacific region during the Cold War.
Dozens of leftwing activists protested outside the main army base in Manila, saying the Americans were using China as a bogeyman to gain a forward base in the Philippines.
“Our armed forces will not modernize just because we conduct war games with US forces,” left-wing group Bayan (Nation) Secretary-General Renato Reyes said.
“Our capacity to defend our territory against China will not be improved just because there are training exercises,” he added.
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
STILL ON THE TABLE: The government is not precluding advanced nuclear power generation if it is proven safer and the nuclear waste issue is solved, the premier said Taiwan is willing to be in step with the world by considering new methods of nuclear energy generation and to discuss alternative approaches to provide more stable power generation and help support industries, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. The government would continue to develop diverse and green energy solutions, which include considering advances in nuclear energy generation, he added. Cho’s remarks echoed President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments in an interview last month, saying the government is not precluding “advanced and newer nuclear power generation” if it is proven to be safer and the issue of nuclear waste is resolved. Lai’s comment had
‘BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS’: The US military’s aim is to continue to make any potential Chinese invasion more difficult than it already is, US General Ronald Clark said The likelihood of China invading Taiwan without contest is “very, very small” because the Taiwan Strait is under constant surveillance by multiple countries, a US general has said. General Ronald Clark, commanding officer of US Army Pacific (USARPAC), the US Army’s largest service component command, made the remarks during a dialogue hosted on Friday by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Asked by the event host what the Chinese military has learned from its US counterpart over the years, Clark said that the first lesson is that the skill and will of US service members are “unmatched.” The second
STANDING TOGETHER: Amid China’s increasingly aggressive activities, nations must join forces in detecting and dealing with incursions, a Taiwanese official said Two senior Philippine officials and one former official yesterday attended the Taiwan International Ocean Forum in Taipei, the first high-level visit since the Philippines in April lifted a ban on such travel to Taiwan. The Ocean Affairs Council hosted the two-day event at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center. Philippine Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Coast Guard spokesman Grand Commodore Jay Tarriela and former Philippine Presidential Communications Office assistant secretary Michel del Rosario participated in the forum. More than 100 officials, experts and entrepreneurs from 15 nations participated in the forum, which included discussions on countering China’s hybrid warfare