The US and the Philippines fired at a decommissioned ship in the South China Sea as part of their largest military drills to date, in a display of defense capabilities amid heightened tensions with Beijing.
(Bloomberg) — The US and the Philippines fired at a decommissioned ship in the South China Sea as part of their largest military drills to date, in a display of defense capabilities amid heightened tensions with Beijing.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. watched the live exercises using binoculars as American and Filipino forces attempted to sink the vessel 12 nautical miles off Zambales province facing the vast waters that’s been a flashpoint between the Southeast Asian nation and China.
High-mobility artillery rocket systems were used for the drills, similar to those deployed in the Russian war in Ukraine. The military tests are being streamed live.
The live-fire exercise intends to boost the interoperability of US and Philippine defense systems, and highlights Marcos’s strategy to shift the armed forces’ focus to external security, said Chester Cabalza, who heads a Manila-based security think tank. “The message it sends to China brings the notion that the archipelagic country is naval-ready for any eventuality,” he said.
The US has been advancing its longstanding defense alliance with the Philippines, amid increasing rivalry and geopolitical disputes with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea. Marcos is set to meet US President Joe Biden in Washington next week to discuss defense ties, months after the American military gained expanded access in the Philippines.
China has described the strengthened US’ defense ties with the Southeast Asian nation as an attempt to “encircle and contain” Beijing. China also recently announced plans to hold military drills in waters off its coast and in the South China Sea, shortly after conducting exercises around Taiwan.
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