After ‘Balikatan’ military exercise comes ‘Cope Thunder’ revival

A Filipino soldier, right, trains with US troops on how to operate a Javelin shoulder-launched anti-tank missile during the "Balikatan" exercise on April 13, 2023. - AP

MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network): Cope Thunder started in the Philippines in 1976 but the training stopped after the US military closed its bases in Clark and Subic Bay in 1991 due to damage from the Mt Pinatubo eruption in June that year and also after the Philippine Senate voted against extending the lease on US military facilities

The air forces of the Philippines and United States will revive a large-scale joint exercise after more than three decades to enhance the defence and readiness posture of the two treaty allies amid worries about China’s assertiveness in the region.