Philippines, US kick off joint drills amid China concerns
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More than 3,000 Filipino and US soldiers will participate in the three-week long annual exercises called Salaknib.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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FORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines – The Philippines and United States launched army-to-army exercises on Monday, with a focus on enhancing the South-east Asian nation’s ability to protect and defend its territory from external threats.
The drills come on the heels of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s decision last month to expand the US’ access
It is a move that has infuriated China, since the Philippines is seen as a fulcrum of geopolitical rivalry between the two major powers.
More than 3,000 Philippine and US soldiers will participate in the three-week long annual exercises called Salaknib.
Salaknib involves multiple small-arms live-fire exercises, artillery and mortar live-fire events, and construction projects.
“The scenarios would involve the defence of the Philippine archipelago from potential foreign aggressors,” Lieutenant-General Romeo Brawner, the Philippine army chief, told reporters following the opening ceremony.
“Since this is an army-to-army exercise, we will focus on defence operations such as air defence and also our defence from the shorelines,” he said.
The majority of activities will take place at Fort Magsaysay, the Philippines’ largest military camp.
It is also one of the five existing sites the US has access to under its Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with Manila.
Under the agreement, the US can use the bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but not to maintain a permanent presence.
China has slammed the expanded agreement, calling it “part of US efforts to encircle and contain China through its military alliance with this country”.
“By doing these, the US has not only heightened tension, driven a wedge between China and the Philippines, but also has disturbed and upset the joint effort of countries in this region to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea,” the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Manila said in a statement on Sunday.
The Philippines has yet to disclose the additional bases to which the US will have access.
But a former military chief has said they include bases on the island of Luzon, facing north towards Taiwan, and on Palawan in the south-west, near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. REUTERS
