U.S. and Philippine forces conducted war drills in the disputed South China Sea, resulting in the sinking of a mock enemy ship.
Marcos has ordered his military to shift its focus to external defense from decades-long domestic anti-insurgency operations as China’s actions in the South China Sea become a top concern.
China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard ships with powerful water cannons, a military-grade laser, blocking movements and other dangerous maneuvers in the high seas near two disputed South China Sea shoals.
CHINA REVEALS ALLEGED 2016 ‘SECRET AGREEMENT’ WITH PHILIPPINES REGARDING SOUTH CHINA SEA “We don’t have the wherewithal to be able to fight all of this bullying coming from China so where else will we go?”
The Philippines has repeatedly cited a 2016 international arbitration ruling based on the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea that invalidated China’s claim over virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds.
China has opposed military drills involving U.S. forces as well as increasing U.S. military deployments in the region, which it warned would escalate tensions and endanger regional stability.
Washington and Beijing have been on a collision course over China’s increasingly assertive actions to defend its territorial claims in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s stated goal of annexing Taiwan, by force if necessary.
China strongly opposed the move, which allows U.S. forces to establish staging grounds and surveillance posts in the northern Philippines across the channel from Taiwan, and in western Philippine provinces facing the South China Sea.
You. S. and Philippine forces sank a dummy enemy ship during war games in the contentious South China Sea.
Diplomats and military officials from several nations watched the show of force in Laoag City, Philippines.
Over 16,000 U.S. military personnel. s. and the Philippines took part in the yearly drills, as did Australian troops and military observers from fourteen other countries.
U. S. In large-scale war drills in and around the disputed South China Sea that have enraged Beijing, Philippine forces, supported by an Australian air force surveillance aircraft, launched a barrage of high-precision rockets, artillery fire, and airstrikes on Wednesday. They also sank a mock enemy ship.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines observed the show of force from a hilltop overlooking a sandy beach in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, in front of military officials and diplomats from several nations. the northern province of origin.
Annual combat-readiness drills known as Balikatan, or shoulder-to-shoulder in Tagalog, involved over 16,000 military personnel from the Philippines and the United States, a few hundred Australian soldiers, and military observers from fourteen other countries. A scenario of a foreign invasion of the Philippine archipelago is part of the drills, which began on April 22 and run through Friday.
AMID SOUTH CHINA SEA TENSIONS, THE US, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, AND PHILIPPINES SPAN TO DEEPEN DEFENSE COOPERATION.
This is the most recent example of how China’s increasingly aggressive actions in disputed Asian territories have alarmed the United States and the Philippines, who have strengthened their defense treaty alliance since the 1950s.
Concerned about China’s actions in the South China Sea, Marcos has ordered his military to abandon decades-long domestic anti-insurgency operations in favor of external defense. This strategic change aligns with U.S. S. In order to oppose China, President Joe Biden and his administration will strengthen an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific area.
By regularly using strong water cannons, a military-grade laser, blocking movements, and other risky maneuvers in the high seas close to two disputed South China Sea shoals, China has infuriated the Philippines by harassing its navy and coast guard ships. They resulted in a minor collision that damaged supply boats and injured multiple members of the Filipino navy.
Jose Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to Washington, told The Associated Press over the phone that “we’re under the gun.”.
A 2016 “secret agreement” involving the Philippines and the South China Sea has been revealed by China.
“Where else will we go because we don’t have the resources to fight all of this bullying coming from China?” Romualdez questioned. “We visited the appropriate party—the United States and those who support what the U.S. S. carries out. “.
China claims that the Philippines started the hostilities in the disputed waters by invading its offshore territories, which are marked on a map with ten dashes. The Philippine Coast Guard and other vessels have allegedly been forced to leave those areas by the Chinese Coast Guard and Navy. A 2016 international arbitration decision based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that declared China’s claim to almost the whole South China Sea to be invalid due to historical reasons has been frequently cited by the Philippines.
China declined the ruling and has persisted in disobeying it; it did not take part in the arbitration complaint that the Philippines filed in 2013.
Following repeated strikes by artillery and missile fire, as well as bombs dropped by U.S. s. The mock enemy ship sank as black smoke billowed from its stern during the combat drills involving Philippine warplanes. The Philippine military claims that the target ship was built in China and was decommissioned by the Philippine navy in 2020 as a result of electrical and mechanical problems.
Officials from the Philippine military claimed that no nation was the target of the exercises. China is against US military exercises. S. , in addition to growing U. s. military actions in the area, about which it issued a warning that hostilities would rise and regional stability would be jeopardized.
China has closely guarded the Spratly Islands area with its coast guard, navy, and suspected militia flotillas. This was the first time in years that the combat exercises were held in and around the region.
On Monday, the U. s. in the northernmost town of the nation, Itbayat, along the Bashi Channel close to southern Taiwan, Filipino marines flown in by Black Hawk helicopters rehearsed securing an airfield. A select group of media, including members of the AP, was granted access to observe the combat maneuvers conducted by air and ground forces.
They are not functioning in secure regions. Being able to practice in ways they might have to work for real is why they’re operating a little bit further to the western bounds, as British Defense Attaché to Manila Bea Walcot explained while she observed the ship-sinking drill.
China’s more assertive efforts to defend its territorial claims in the South China Sea and Beijing’s declared intention to annex Taiwan, by force if necessary, have put Washington and Beijing on a collision course.
Marcos granted approval for a broader U.S. S. by permitting American military personnel to station themselves in four additional Philippine military camps on a rotating basis. Compared to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who was concerned Beijing would become more antagonistic due to a greater American military presence, that was a dramatic shift in policy.
China fiercely objected to the action, which permits U. s. troops to set up staging areas and observation posts in the western Philippine provinces that face the South China Sea, as well as in the northern Philippines, across the Taiwan Strait.
The People’s Republic of China has issued a warning, stating that its security and territorial interests should not be jeopardized, nor should the ongoing military drills between Washington and Manila meddle in internal disputes. Responding that it has the right to protect its territorial interests and sovereignty, the Philippines dismissed the argument.
“To demonstrate to China that even though you may possess all the ships in the world, we have the firepower to destroy them all, an alliance is crucial,” Romualdez remarked.
