More than 17,600 military personnel will participate in the annual “Balikatan” exercises, which will include the destruction of a ship in Philippine territorial waters.
China conducted simulated air and sea attacks off the coast of Taiwan. Prompting the United States and the Philippines to conduct their largest combat exercises in decades.
More than 17,600 military personnel will participate in the annual “Balikatan” exercises. It will include live-fire maneuvers such as a boat-sinking rocket assault in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
It will be the latest American armament display in Asia and may inflame tensions with China. Which does not recognise Taiwan’s independence.
Chinese warplanes and navy ships remained in Taiwanese waters on Tuesday following the conclusion of three days of war exercises, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry.
“We are not provocative by exercising,” Philippine Balikatan spokesperson Colonel Michael Logico said before the manoeuvres.
He added, “This is a form of deterrence.” “Deterrence is the act of discouraging others from invading our territory.”
Officials say that warships, fighter aircraft, Patriot missiles, HIMARS rocket launchers, and anti-tank Javelins will be displayed during the exercises.
The US Embassy in Manila stated that field scenarios such as a shipwreck in Philippine territorial waters are intended to “test the allies’ capabilities in combined arms live-fire, information, and intelligence sharing, communications between maneuver units, logistics operations, and amphibious operations.”
The exercises coincide with Joe Biden’s push to strengthen Indo-Pacific alliances to counter China, including a potential Taiwan conflict.
Washington has consistently cautioned China about its aggressive behaviour in the contentious maritime corridor and against Taiwan.
Recent revelations that the Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over the United States was able to collect intelligence from sensitive American military sites have further strained relations between the two superpowers.
