The United States and the Philippines launched the annual Balikatan 2024 military exercise amid rising tensions in the South China Sea (SCS).
According to the report, the ABS-CBN News TV channel said.
“The purpose of the armed forces, which is our raison d’être, is actually to prepare for war. There is no need to sugarcoat it, if we don’t prepare, we would be doing harm to the country,” the TV station quoted Balikatan 2024 spokesman Michael Logico as saying.
A Philippine military official noted that this is the first time the exercise will take place outside Philippine territorial waters, about 22 kilometres from the Philippine coastline. ABS-CBN News also reported that the US has deployed SM-6 surface-to-air guided missiles in the Philippines, but the Balikatan 2024 spokesperson stated that these weapons will not be used in the exercise.
For the first time, the Philippine Coast Guard will participate in manoeuvres to respond to the armed seizure of an island in Palawan province near the Spratly Islands in the SCS, whose rights are disputed by China and the Philippines, as well as Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia. The exercise will take place in Cagayan and Batanes provinces in the northern Philippines, less than 300 kilometres from Taiwan.
Balikatan 2024 participants will also practice the tactics of information warfare, maritime security and integrated air and missile defence.
Earlier, Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of China’s Central Military Council, said that the world’s oceans should not become a battlefield and a show of strength, as history has shown that the struggle for power at sea has only brought suffering to mankind.