US firepower showcased in Philippine joint combat drills near Manila

CAPAS, Oct 15 (AP): Truck-mounted launchers blasted off rockets and US stealth fighter jets streaked across the northern Philippine sky this week in a combat drill that marked the latest display of American firepower in a region where Washington has tried to deter what it warns as China’s growing aggression.

The live-fire exercises at a gunnery and bombing range in a desolate valley in Capas town north of Manila were the highlight of two weeks of combat readiness maneuvers, which included mock amphibious assaults and joint coastal defense tactics involving more than 2,500 American and Philippine marines.