The Armies of the United States and the Philippines began their largest joint military exercises in history on Tuesday.some maneuvers that consolidate the renewed military alliance between the two countries in full escalation of tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
“Through these exercises, U.S. and Philippine forces will hone their interoperability, increase their competencies, and complement their capabilities through collaboration, ensuring they are prepared to respond together to real-world challenges,” said the United States Marine Cmdr. United States, Eric Austin, during the opening ceremony held this Tuesday in Manila.
The annual exercises, called Balikatan (“shoulder to shoulder” in Filipino), will bring together over 17,600 personnel (12,200 US soldiers, 5,400 Filipinos), almost double that in 2022, and will include live fire with Patriot missiles and Avengers defense systems for the first time. They also include a live-fire maneuver in the South China Sea, less than 300 kilometers east of the Scarborough Reef, over which Beijing and Manila are in dispute.
For Australian National University emeritus professor Carlile Thayer, “the knowledge used in this exercise could be applied to the sinking of a Chinese warship.”
The most powerful exercise in 39 years
This “Balikatan”, notably more numerous in terms of troops, military deployment and intensity of live fire, is the most powerful exercise since these maneuvers were inaugurated 39 years ago, and it is also the largest to date in any of the modalities of existing exercises between both countries. The maneuvers add to the strengthened military alliance between Washington and Manila to curb China’s expansionist ambitions in the South China Sea and in Taiwan.
Last week, the Philippines announced the four new military bases in the archipelago to which troops from USA 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 the island of Balabac, close to the islands that Beijing and Manila dispute in the South China Sea. It was there that the US sent its destroyer USS Milius on Monday, an action China condemned, saying Beijing has “indisputable sovereignty” over the islands and their adjacent waters.
“To protect our sovereign territory, we must prepare to retake a seized island”explained to the press the colonel Michael Logico, spokesman for the Philippine armed forces, after the ceremony to start the exercises at a military camp in Manila. It is the first time that these exercises have been organized under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, who wants to strengthen his ties with Washington after the distancing of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.
Chinese reviews
The US show of force coincides with the end this Monday of Chinese military maneuvers around Taiwan simulating the blockade of the self-governing island whose sovereignty is claimed by Beijingin retaliation for last Wednesday’s meeting in California between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The new pact between Manila and Washington angered Chinawhich accused the American power of “endanger regional peace and stability”. “Countries in this part of the world should preserve their strategic independence, and firmly resist the mentality of cold war and confrontation between blocs,” said the Chinese ambassador in Manila, Huang Xilian.
The Philippine president tried to calm things down by assuring that China should not worry about the location of the bases to which the US will have access, since “if nobody attacks us, they do not have to worry because we will not launch an offensive.”