US and Philippine forces yesterday launched their largest combat exercises in years in a show of allied firepower near the disputed South China Sea that has alarmed Beijing.
The annual exercises by the treaty allies are to run until May 10 and involve more than 16,000 of their military personnel, along with more than 250 French and Australian forces.
While the Philippine military maintains that the Balikatan, or “shoulder-to-shoulder,” exercises are not directed at a particular nation, some of their main conflict scenarios are set in or near the disputed South China Sea, where Chinese and Philippine coast guard and accompanying ships have figured in a series of increasingly tense territorial face-offs since last year.
Photo: Reuters
In encounters in disputed areas, Chinese coast guard vessels have resorted to water cannons, blocking and other dangerous maneuvers that have caused injuries to Philippine navy personnel and damaged supply boats.
The Philippine military said a key focus of this year’s drills is territorial defense.
“We’re dead serious about protecting our territory — that’s why we do these Balikatan exercises,” said Colonel Michael Logico, who speaks for the Philippine military on combat drills.
As the disputes between China and the Philippines have escalated, US President Joe Biden and his administration have repeatedly warned that the US is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if it is attacked.
US Marine Lieutenant General William Jurney said at the opening ceremony that the large-scale military exercises would demonstrate that the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines “is no mere piece of paper.”
Washington lays no claim to the contested waters, but has declared that freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of the disputes are in its national interest.
Armed Force of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner, who opened the exercises at the ceremony, said that as Pacific coastal nations, the US and the Philippines “understand the importance of maritime cooperation in addressing the complex challenges that threaten peace and security in our region.”
The combat drills are to include the sinking of a mock enemy ship by combined US and Philippine firepower, and the retaking of an occupied island off the northwestern Philippines, the Philippine military said.
China specifically opposed the transport of a US ground-launched missile system to the northern Philippines ahead of the exercises.
No missile is to be fired, but the aim is to build familiarity among military participants with the hi-tech weaponry in a tropical setting.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) expressed Beijing’s grave concern over the deployment of the missile system “at China’s doorstep.”
“The US move exacerbates tensions in the region, and increases the risk of misjudgement and miscalculation,” he said a news briefing in Beijing last week. “The Philippines needs to think twice about being a cat’s paw for the US at the expense of its security interests and stop sliding down the wrong path.”
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