The largest joint military exercises between the US and the Philippines began on Tuesday. The maneuvers consolidate the renewed military alliance between the two allies in the midst of an escalation of tensions with China in the South Sea and around Taiwan.
The annual exercises, called Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder), will bring together more than 17,000 troops this year (12,000 US soldiers and 5,000 Filipinos), almost double the number in 2022, and will include live fire with Patriot missiles and Avengers defense systems for the first time. and will be held from today until April 27, as confirmed by a Philippine Army spokesman.
In addition, this source added, they will fire Himars missiles at a disabled fishing boat in the province of Zambales, northwest of the archipelago and close to Bajo del Masinloc, an atoll located in Philippine territorial waters that China invaded in 2012 as part of its “historical claims “in the South China Sea, which the Philippines calls the South Sea.
“The highlight of the exercises will be the combined joint littoral live-fire exercise, which aims to rehearse joint and combined tactical techniques and procedures for executing a maritime attack,” said Maj. Gen. Marvin Licudine, director of the Philippine exercises. in a speech at the opening ceremony.
Major General Eric Austin, acting director of US exercises, said the Balikatan exercises will ensure both countries are “prepared to respond to real-world challenges together.”
This Balikatan, notably more numerous in terms of troops, military deployment and intensity of live fire, puts the icing on the cake for the strengthened military alliance between Washington and Manila to curb China’s expansionist ambitions in the South Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely, and in Taiwan. Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory, while the democratically ruled island claims autonomy.
Last week, the Philippines announced the four new military bases in the archipelago to which US troops will have access (bringing the total to nine), one of them in the northernmost part of the archipelago, some 400 kilometers from Taiwan, while another is on Balabac Island, close to the islands disputed by Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea.
It was precisely there, near the Spratly archipelago, that the US destroyer USS Milius sailed on Monday, an action China condemned, saying Beijing has “indisputable sovereignty” over the islands and their adjacent waters. China’s Foreign Ministry said the moves “should not interfere in the South China Sea disputes, let alone harm China’s territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests, and security interests.”
The US show of force coincides with some Chinese military maneuvers around Taiwan that in recent days simulated the blockade of the self-governing island whose sovereignty is claimed by Beijing, in retaliation for the meeting last Wednesday in California between the president Taiwanese Tsai Ing Wen, and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
Relations between the United States and the Philippines have strengthened considerably under the presidency of Marcos, who in February granted Washington greater access to his country’s military bases.
Also, this Tuesday the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, will meet with members of the Philippine government in Washington to discuss the growing tension in the South Sea before his next visit to Vietnam and Japan.
