US and Philippine forces, backed by an Australian air force, unleashed rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes to sink a mock enemy ship in war drills in disputed waters of South China Sea, reports the Associated Press.
The exercise has antagonized Beijing, said the report. Military officials and diplomats from several countries watched the display of firepower from a hilltop along a sandy coast in Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's northern home province.
United States and the Philippines, along with a few hundred Australian troops and military observers from 14 countries, were participating in annual combat-readiness drills called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder.
The drills, which started April 22 include a scenario of a foreign invasion of the Philippine archipelago.
The Philippines have bolstered a defence treaty alliance that started in the 1950s amid their concern in recent years over China's increasingly aggressive actions in disputed territories in Asia.
President Marcos has ordered his military to shift its focus to external defence from decades-long domestic anti-insurgency operations as China's actions in the South China Sea become a top concern. That strategic shift dovetails with the efforts of us President Joe Biden and his administration to reinforce an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China.
China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard ships with powerful water cannons, a military-grade laser, blocking movements and other dangerous maneuvers in the high seas near two disputed South China Sea shoals. They have led to minor collision that have injured several Filipino navy personnel and damaged supply boats.
'We're under the gun,' Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
'We don't have the wherewithal to be able to fight all of this bullying coming from China so where else will we go?' Mr Romualdez said. 'We went to the right party, which is the United States and those that believe in what the US is doing.'
China has accused the Philippines of setting off the hostilities in the disputed waters by encroaching in what it says are its offshore territories, demarcated by 10 dashes on a map. It says the Chinese coast guard and navy have been forced to take action to expel 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 of the Law of the Sea that invalidated China's claim over virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds.
SeaNews Turkey
The exercise has antagonized Beijing, said the report. Military officials and diplomats from several countries watched the display of firepower from a hilltop along a sandy coast in Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's northern home province.
United States and the Philippines, along with a few hundred Australian troops and military observers from 14 countries, were participating in annual combat-readiness drills called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder.
The drills, which started April 22 include a scenario of a foreign invasion of the Philippine archipelago.
The Philippines have bolstered a defence treaty alliance that started in the 1950s amid their concern in recent years over China's increasingly aggressive actions in disputed territories in Asia.
President Marcos has ordered his military to shift its focus to external defence from decades-long domestic anti-insurgency operations as China's actions in the South China Sea become a top concern. That strategic shift dovetails with the efforts of us President Joe Biden and his administration to reinforce an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China.
China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard ships with powerful water cannons, a military-grade laser, blocking movements and other dangerous maneuvers in the high seas near two disputed South China Sea shoals. They have led to minor collision that have injured several Filipino navy personnel and damaged supply boats.
'We're under the gun,' Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
'We don't have the wherewithal to be able to fight all of this bullying coming from China so where else will we go?' Mr Romualdez said. 'We went to the right party, which is the United States and those that believe in what the US is doing.'
China has accused the Philippines of setting off the hostilities in the disputed waters by encroaching in what it says are its offshore territories, demarcated by 10 dashes on a map. It says the Chinese coast guard and navy have been forced to take action to expel 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 of the Law of the Sea that invalidated China's claim over virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds.
SeaNews Turkey
