military deployments, which it warned would rachet up tensions and hamper regional stability and peace. forces in the region as well as increasing U.S. China has opposed military drills involving U.S. Philippine military officials said the maneuvers would bolster the country’s coastal defense and disaster-response capabilities and were not aimed at any country. Marine Corps command and control hub enabled scattered allied forces to identify and locate enemy targets and then deliver precision rocket and missile fire. Smaller floating targets, including empty drums tied together, were also used as targets to simulate a battle scene in which a U.S. The ship targeted by the allied forces was a decommissioned Philippine navy warship which was towed 18 to 22 kilometers (11 to 14 miles) out to sea. warships, fighter jets as well as Patriot missiles, HIMARS and anti-tank Javelins, according to U.S. director for the annual joint exercises called Balikatan, Tagalog for ”shoulder-to-shoulder."Ībout 12,200 U.S military personnel, 5,400 Filipino forces and 111 Australian counterparts are taking part in the exercises, the largest since Balikatan started three decades ago. “Together we are strengthening our capabilities in full-spectrum military operations across all domains,” said Jurney, the U.S. ![]() “This training increased the exercise’s realism and complexity, a key priority shared between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. Fishermen have been advised to stay away from the area. Mike Logico, a Philippine military spokesperson for the drills. The coastal clearing in front of Marcos resembled a smoke-shrouded war zone and thudded with artillery fire as AH-64 Apache attack helicopters flew overhead.Ī private light plane flew by during the exercises, briefly interrupting them, and was asked to move away, said Col. High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, a multiple rocket and missile launcher mounted on a truck that has become a crucial weapon for Ukrainian troops battling Russian invasion forces. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson and his top defense and security advisers, used a pair of binoculars as rockets streaked into the blue sky from the U.S. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, including at least 77 since Marcos took office in June. The shift in the Philippine defense focus is in sync with the Biden administration’s aim of reinforcing an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China.Ĭhina has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters close to Philippine shores but which Beijing claims as its own. Marcos has ordered his military to shift its focus to external defense from decades-long domestic anti-insurgency battles as China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea become a top concern.
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