More than 2,500 US and Philippine marines joined combat exercises on Monday to be able to respond to any sudden crisis in an area that includes the western island province of Palawan, which faces the South China Sea, and the northern Philippines, across the Luzon Strait from Taiwan, media reported.
According to reports, drills in the Philippines are being held simultaneously with combat exercises between US Marines and Japanese forces on Japan’s island of Hokkaido.
The annual military drills are some of the largest so far between the long-time treaty allies under newly elected Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. His predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, had been an outspoken critic of US security policies and frowned on military exercises with American forces he said could offend China.
Called Kamandag the Tagalog acronym for “Cooperation of the Warriors of the Sea” – the drills involve 1,900 US Marines and more than 600 mostly Philippine counterparts in mock amphibious assaults and special operations, US and Philippine military officials said. America’s HIMARS missile launchers and supersonic fighter jets will be in live-fire manoeuvres that will end on October 14, they said.
KI/PR