American and Philippine forcesbacked by a surveillance plane from the australian air forcelaunched a barrage of high precision rocketsfire artillery and air strikesand They sank a simulated enemy shipas part of the large scale war drills in and near the disputed South China Seawhich have provoked the animosity of Beijing.
After being repeatedly hit by missiles, artillery fire and bombs dropped by American and Philippine warplanes during combat exercises, The simulated enemy ship sank as black smoke billowed from its stern.
The target vessel was manufactured in China, but was decommissioned by the Philippine Navy in 2020 due to mechanical and electrical problemsaccording to the Philippine military.
Military and diplomatic officials from several countries observed the firepower deployment from the top of a hill along a sandy coast in the city of Laoagin Ilocos Norte, the Philippine president’s home province Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the north of the country.
More than 16,000 military personnel from the United States and the Philippinesalong with a few hundred Australian soldiers and military observers from 14 countriesparticipated in the annual combat preparation exercises called Balikatanwhich in Tagalog means “shoulder to shoulder.”
The exercises, which began on April 22 and will end on Friday, include a scene of foreign invasion of the Philippine archipelago.
Is he latest sign of how the United States and the Philippines have strengthened the alliance which began in the 1950s under a defense treatyamid his concern in recent years about the China’s increasingly aggressive actions in disputed territories in Asia.
Marcos has ordered his armed forces to focus on external defenserather than in decades-long national counterinsurgency operations, as the China’s actions in the South China Sea become one of their main concerns. This strategic change fits with the efforts of the President of the United States, Joe Bidenand his administration to reinforce an arc of alliances in the region of the Indo-Pacific to counter China.
China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harass their navy ships and the coast guard with powerful water cannonsa military-grade device, blocking movements and other dangerous maneuvers on the high seas near two disputed sandbanks in the South China Sea. They have caused minor collisions that have injured several members of the Philippine navy and damaged supply ships.
“We are under pressure”said the Philippine ambassador in Washington, Jose Romualdezto The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
“We do not have the means to fight against all this harassment from China, so where else are we going to go?” Romualdez said. “We go to the right party, which is the United States and those who believe in what America does.”
China has accused the Philippines of triggering hostilities in the disputed waters by invading what it says are its offshore territories, delimited by 10 lines on a map. He claims that the Chinese coast guard and navy have been forced to take measures to expel the Philippine coast guard and other vessels from those areas. The Philippines has repeatedly cited a 2016 international arbitration ruling based on the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea which invalidated China’s claim to virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds.
China did not participate in the arbitration claim filed by the Philippines in 2013, has rejected the ruling and continues to challenge it.
The Philippine military stated that The maneuvers were not directed against any country. China has opposed military drills involving US forces as well as increased US military deployments in the region, which it has warned would increase tensions and jeopardize regional stability.
For the first time in years, combat exercises were carried out in the Spratly Islands area or near it, a highly disputed area which China closely monitors with its coast guard, its navy and supposed militia flotillas.
On Monday, U.S. and Filipino Marines transported by helicopter Black Hawk practiced airfield security in Itbayatthe northernmost city in the country, along the Bashi canal, near the south of Taiwan. A small group of journalists, including APwas invited to witness the air and ground combat maneuvers.
“They are not operating in safe areas. “They are operating a little further towards the western limits and they are doing it to practice so that they can have to do real work,” said the British Defense Attaché in Manila, Bea Walcotwho witnessed the simulated sinking of the ship.
Washington and Beijing are at loggerheads over China’s increasingly assertive actions in defense of its territorial claims in the South China Sea and for its stated objective of annex Taiwanby force if necessary.
In February last year, Marcos approved an increased US military presence in the Philippines by allowing stay of rotating groups of US military forces in four other Philippine military camps. This marked a radical change from its predecessor, Rodrigo Dutertewhich feared that a larger US military presence could antagonize Beijing.
China strongly opposed the measurewhich allows US forces to establish operating bases and surveillance posts in the northern Philippinesacross the channel from Taiwan, and in the western Philippine provinces facing the South China Sea.
China has warned that the ever closer security alliance between Washington and Manila and its ongoing military maneuvers must not harm its territorial and security interests or interfere in territorial disputes. The Philippines replied that it has the right to defend its sovereignty and territorial interests.
“An alliance is very important to show China that they can have all the ships they have, but we have a lot of firepower to sink them all,” Romualdez declared.
(With information from AP)
