MANILA, March 28 (AP): Thousands of American and Filipino forces began on Monday one of their largest combat exercises in years that will include live-fire maneuvers, aircraft assaults, urban warfare and beach landings in a showcase of US firepower in the northern Philippines near the sea border with Taiwan.
he annual exercises, called Balikatan - Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder - will run up to April 8 with nearly 9,000 troops, navy, marines, air force and army troops, including 5,100 American military personnel, to strengthen the longtime treaty allies’ "capabilities and readiness for real-world challenges,” US and Philippine military officials said.