MANILA: The US and the Philippines will start their flagship annual military drills Monday (April 21), touted as a "rehearsal” for the defence of the nation amid ongoing tensions with China.
Billed as the "Super Bowl” of exercises in the region, this year’s drills will also show that the Trump administration is intent on keeping Washington’s military support for its long-time ally as it faces growing pressure from Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.
An estimated 14,000 troops, including 9,000 from the US, are set to participate in drills that will be staged in western and northern Philippine locations facing the South China Sea and Taiwan, considered as regional flashpoints.
The allies’ defence partners, Australia and Japan, are also expected to participate, while over a dozen other countries were invited to observe the exercises that run through May 9 - called Balikatan - a Filipino word that translates as shoulder-to-shoulder.
Manila is "treating the exercise as a rehearsal for our defence,” Philippine Brigadier General Michael Logico, director for the drills, told reporters last week. Asked about a potential adverse reaction from China, Logico said: "When we plan out our exercises, we are agnostic to whatever reactions other countries may have.”
Beijing claims nearly the entire South China Sea - an assertion that Manila rejects because it has its own claims in the resource-rich waterway. China also sees self-governing Taiwan as a renegade province and held military drills around the island recently.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced during his visit to Manila last month that the US would be deploying the NMESIS anti-ship missile system for this year’s drills, which will cover air and missile defence - a new feature in the war games.
The drills are happening as China’s trade war with the US intensifies. Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said in an interview this month that Manila expects a sustained US$500 million in annual defence funding from Washington through 2029 to boost its military capabilities and deter China’s "aggression” in the region.
"This is the Super Bowl of all exercises in this part of the region,” Logico said. - Bloomberg
