Filipino soldiers prepare for shelling during a combined field artillery live-fire exercise as part of the US-Philippines Balikatan military exercises, amid growing threats from China, near New Clark City, Philippines, on April 14.
Filipino soldiers prepare for shelling during a combined field artillery live-fire exercise as part of the US-Philippines Balikatan military exercises, amid growing threats from China, near New Clark City, Philippines, on April 14.
United States and Philippine forces fired on a mock enemy warship in the South China Sea on Wednesday, the latest display of American firepower in Asia as tensions with China continue to rise.
The exercise, watched live by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, was part of the annual Balikatan drills, which are scheduled to run until April 28 and involve more than 17,600 military personnel – the largest such exercises ever conducted by the two longtime treaty allies.
US aircraft, including F-35 and F-16 fighter jets, as well as HIMARS rocket systems and Cobra helicopters joined with Philippine FA-50 fighter jets, helicopters and artillery to fire on a decommissioned warship towed to a site within Philippine territorial waters off the island of Luzon, a Philippine military release said.
Luzon, the northernmost of the Philippines main islands, is only 280 miles (452 kilometers) from Taiwan, the self-ruled island over which the Chinese Communist Party claims sovereignty despite never having ruled it. Earlier this month, China’s state-run media labeled the drills as an “attempt to target China.”
US and Philippine military leaders said Wednesday’s exercise was designed to synchronize combat forces.
PIME PHILIPPINES 