After China’s exercises, the US and the Philippines start their biggest-ever drills

A day after China wrapped up extensive military drills surrounding Taiwan, the US and the Philippines are conducting their biggest-ever combined military operations.

After Taiwan’s president met the speaker of the US House last week, China’s military practised blockades of the island for three days.

Despite Taiwan President Tsai’s assertion that she has the right to travel to the US, Washington denounced China’s show of force as being out of scale.

It had been arranged for the US drills in advance.

Officials from the US and the Philippines claim that the exercises demonstrate their dedication to open and free Indo-Pacific area and to peace and stability.

More than 17,000 troops, including 12,000 from the US, will participate in this year’s Balikatan exercise with the Philippines, which Washington stated last month would be the largest ever.

A simulation to blow up a dummy target destroyer in the South China Sea will also be conducted by the militaries during the two-week Balikatan operation, which might anger China.

US and Filipino military officials stressed that the exercises should not be interpreted as a reaction to events in Taiwan.

Four additional navy stations will be built on Philippine islands near territorial disputes under a new military agreement that Washington and Manila signed in February.

Three of these sites are located north of Luzon Island, which is the only landmass that is closer to Taiwan than China.

Some of the most important trade routes in the world pass through the waters surrounding the Philippines and in the South China Sea, which have recently been the focus of a territorial dispute between China and the Philippines.

The US sent a naval destroyer through the South China Sea on Monday as China was wrapping up its own manoeuvres in which it had deployed fighter fighters and an aircraft carrier around Taiwan. The US described this operation as a freedom of navigation mission.

The Spratly Islands are in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines but are claimed by Beijing; the US dispatched the USS Milius past them.

How China weighs how to respond to Taiwan

In China’s backyard, the US wants to play

Beijing was irate over that. China issued a similar warning on Monday, saying that US-Philippine military cooperation should not meddle in the issues in the highly disputed waters.

According to Wang Wenbin, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, “[it] must not interfere in South China Sea disputes, much less endanger China’s territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests, or security interests.”

Monday marked the end of Beijing’s drills. Taiwan’s defence ministry declared afterwards that it would continue to improve its “combat preparedness.”

Announcing her right to represent her island on the international stage in a Facebook post on Monday night, President Tsai also criticised China’s military response to her US stopovers as “irresponsible actions of a regional power.”

The exercises, known as Balikatan, which are scheduled to go through April 26, will also include participation from a dozen nearby nations. 100 soldiers from Australia have been dispatched.

In recent years, the Balikatan drills’ emphasis has changed to reflect a change in the region’s geo-security concerns. After al-Qaeda-affiliated extremists carried out bomb strikes in the southern Philippines in the 2000s, it focussed on counterterrorism exercises.

But a broader response has been sparked by China’s quick military buildup and territorial claims in the contested South China Sea, particularly on a number of islands claimed by the Philippines.

In terms of regional security, the Philippines’ position has expanded. There is a widespread belief that greater US access to Philippine bases might serve as launch pads for combat operations in the event of armed conflicts over flashpoints like Taiwan or the South China Sea.

The US would not have access to military facilities for aggressive actions, the Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated on Monday.

Given its own worries, China’s response (with regards to Taiwan) is hardly unexpected. However, the Philippines won’t consent to any offensive activities at our bases. If the need arises, this is just intended to assist the Philippines, he said.

a 2 px presentational grey line

the opportunity to observe China up close

Instead of sites where a sizable number of troops will be stationed, the US is looking for access to locations where “light and flexible” operations involving supply and surveillance can be conducted as and when necessary.

The US helped close a gap in the arc of alliances extending from South Korea and Japan in the north to Australia in the south by securing access to four more military sites in the Philippines in February.

The Philippines, which borders Taiwan and the South China Sea, two of the most significant potential flashpoints, had been the missing piece.

The Scarborough Shoal, the Spratly Islands, and Taiwan are all visible from one of the bases they now have access to. The rotational arrival of US troops will be in small groups.

According to commentators, the goal is to prevent China from further encroaching on other countries’ territory in the South China Sea while also giving the US a vantage point from which to observe Chinese military activity near Taiwan.

With rising fears of a clash over Taiwan, the Philippines might provide a “rear access area” for US military operations or even a location to evacuate refugees.