The Philippine and US armed forces started three weeks of joint drills on Monday that will replicate a “full-scale battle scenario” as the two allies work to counter Beijing’s goals in the contentious South China Sea.
The yearly “Balikatan,” or “shoulder to shoulder” drills, in which up to 17,000 personnel are anticipated to participate, will for the first time feature an integrated air and missile defense simulation, which President Ferdinand Marcos will be present for.
In addition to the NMESIS anti-ship missile system, other advanced American weapons will be used, some of which will be stationed close to a strategic bottleneck in the sea that divides the northern Philippines from independent Taiwan.
At the start of Monday’s opening ceremony in Manila, US Marine Corps Lieutenant General James Glynn stated, “We will show not only our will to maintain our mutual defense treaty in place since 1951 but our unmatched ability to do so.”
“Shared adversity forges connections more rapidly than anything else,” he stated, without mentioning a common danger.
Major General Francisco Lorenzo of the Philippines said that the 40th Balikatan exercises would improve the nation’s capacity to meet “contemporary security challenges.”
Over disputed territories of the South China Sea, the Philippines has been at odds with China for months.
Ever since Marcos assumed office in 2022 and started to fight back against China’s far-reaching claims to the vital waterway, it has gradually strengthened its defense collaboration with treaty ally the United States.
