Over 14,000 U.S. and Filipino soldiers are participating in joint military exercises described as a “full battle test” amid increased tension with China in the South China Sea.
According to Reuters, the annual Balikatan exercises started on Monday and will continue through May 9. The outlet noted that the exercises will feature the U.S. HIMARS rocket and the U.S. NMESIS anti-ship missile system.
Reuters reported that approximately 9,000 U.S. troops and 5,000 Filipino troops are participating in this year’s Balikatan exercises. The outlet noted that a small number of troops from Japan, Australia, Canada, Britain, and France are also participating in the joint military exercises, while 16 other countries are observing the exercises.
Asked if the United States and the Philippines had the capability of responding to any aggressive actions in the South China Sea or in the Taiwan Straits, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Glynn, the U.S. director of the Balikatan exercises, said, “We are ready.”
“Our combined strength … possesses a degree of lethality for a force that possesses an indomitable warrior ethos and spirit,” Glynn said during the opening ceremony of the Balikatan exercises. “It’s all dedicated to one purpose, to ensure the defense of the Philippines and to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
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Reuters reported that Glynn described the joint military exercises as “full battle tests” that allow the U.S. and Filipino military forces to conduct a variety of exercises, including preventing invasions at sea, defending against the threat of missiles, and executing a maritime strike test by sinking a decommissioned naval vessel.
“The full battle tests is intended to take into consideration all of the regional security challenges that we face today, beginning in the South China Sea,” Glynn said.
Reuters reported that the Balikatan military exercises come amid rising tension in the region over China’s aggressive behavior near Taiwan and the South China Sea. While Major General Francisco Lorenzo, the Filipino director of the exercises, said the military exercises are not aimed at any particular country, Lorenzo noted that the exercises could serve to deter potential conflict.
“The Balikatan exercise may probably help deter the conflict in Taiwan,” Lorenzo said. “But for our concern, it is only for deterrence of any possible coercion or invasion to our country.”
In a Monday statement obtained by Reuters, Guo Jiakun, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said that China opposes any nation using Taiwan as a reason to increase military deployment in the region and “provoke tension and confrontation.”
Guo added, “The parties concerned are advised not to provoke on the Taiwan issue, and those who play with fire will burn themselves.”
