The Philippine and US militaries yesterday began three weeks of joint exercises that are to simulate a “full-scale battle scenario,” as the two allies seek to deter Beijing’s ambitions in the disputed South China Sea.
As many as 17,000 personnel are expected to take part in the annual “Balikatan,” or “shoulder to shoulder” drills, which for the first time is to include an integrated air and missile defense simulation, to be attended by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Sophisticated US weapons, including the NMESIS anti-ship missile system, is also to be deployed, including near a crucial chokepoint in the waters separating the northern Philippines from Taiwan.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We will demonstrate not just our will to uphold our mutual defense treaty in existence since 1951, but our matchless capability to do so,” US Marine Corps Lieutenant General James Glynn said at the opening ceremony in Manila.
“Nothing builds bonds more quickly than shared adversity,” he said, without specifying a common threat.
Philippine Major General Francisco Lorenzo added that the 40th Balikatan exercises would reinforce the country’s ability to address “contemporary security challenges.”
The Philippines has been engaged in months of confrontations with Beijing over disputed areas of the South China Sea. It has steadily deepened defense cooperation with treaty ally the US since Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back on China’s sweeping claims to the crucial waterway.
In response to the drills, Beijing accused Manila of “collusion with countries outside the region.”
The exercises “undermine regional strategic stability,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said.
“This has already aroused strong aversion and opposition from regional countries,” he said.
Last year’s Balikatan featured tests of the US Typhon mid-range missile system.
The Philippine army subsequently said it was planning to acquire the Typhon, sparking warnings from China of a regional “arms race.”
Glynn yesterday said the Typhon system would again be present, along with the Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or MADIS, a short-range platform specializing in knocking out drones.
Besides the US, countries including Australia and Japan are sending smaller contingents to Balikatan.
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