MANILA – The Philippines and the United States will carry out annual military exercises in April in key locations, including Philippine islands facing the South China Sea and Taiwan, as tensions with China in the region continue to simmer.

The exercises, called Balikatan or “shoulder to shoulder”, will move away from sprawling military camps in the countryside to locations in northern and western regions, Philippine army colonel Michael Logico told a briefing on March 5.

The move is consistent with the shift in the country’s focus from internal to external defence.

The exercises in 2024, which a Philippine diplomat previously said could be larger than 2023’s 17,000-strong drills, will also focus on cyber-security training and “information warfare”.

Batanes, the island province closest to Taiwan, could again be one of 2024’s exercise venues, Col Logico said, but he stressed that the activities will not focus on the democratically governed island.

“It is natural for us to exercise in those areas because if it’s part of Philippine territory, it is where we wave our flag; these are the areas where we defend,” he said.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory despite the island’s rejection, and routinely stages air and naval military operations near the island.

The exercises will also include areas in Palawan province in the South China Sea where frequent maritime run-ins between Manila and Beijing have occurred over the past year.

"These are locations that we can adequately perform joint operations," Col Logico said.

The Philippines on March 5 accused China’s Coast Guard of carrying out “dangerous manoeuvres” that led to a collision between its coast guard ship and a Chinese vessel during a resupply mission for Philippine troops in the South China Sea.

Like in 2023, Col Logico said militaries from both countries will conduct a ship sinking exercise.

Ties between Washington and Manila have warmed under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who in 2023 almost doubled the bases that American troops can access under a defence pact.

Australian troops will also join the exercises, while the French navy is participating for the first time, Col Logico said. France and the Philippines are both seeking to negotiate a military agreement.

Philippine armed forces spokeswoman Francel Margareth Padilla said the exercises will start from the third week of April to the first week of May. REUTERS