The Philippine and US air forces yesterday commenced joint exercises aimed at boosting operational coordination and enhancing “strategic deterrence,” the Philippine military said.
The drills follow months of confrontations between Beijing and Manila over disputed areas of the South China Sea, with significantly larger US-Philippine air, land and sea exercises set for later this month.
“Enhancing combat readiness and elevating joint mission effectiveness” would be central to the Cope Thunder exercise, Philippine Air Force Commander Arthur Cordura said at a ceremony to launch the drills.
Photo: AFP
Military ties between Manila and Washington have deepened since the 2022 election of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pushing back on sweeping Chinese claims in the South China Sea that an international tribunal has ruled are without merit.
The US Department of State last week approved a long-mooted sale of F-16 jets to the Philippines, although Manila said the deal was “still in the negotiation phase.”
Speaking at yesterday’s ceremony, US Major General Christopher Sheppard said that “the pace of our alliance is accelerating.”
Cope Thunder, which is to continue through Friday next week, aims to enhance “asymmetric warfare capabilities,” operational coordination and strategic deterrence, the Philippine Air Force said.
“Further down the road, we look forward to the seamless transition to exercise Balikatan, which will continue to push the boundaries of our interoperability,” Cordura said.
Like the majority of Balikatan’s planned activities, Cope Thunder is to be conducted on northern Luzon island, the area of the Philippines closest to Taiwan.
As China encircled Taiwan with planes and ships in a simulated blockade last week, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr warned troops that their nation would “inevitably” be involved should Taiwan be invaded.
Manila later said that Brawner’s comments were primarily referencing efforts to retrieve Filipino workers from Taiwan.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
RSS