Philippines, US Launch Balikatan Joint Military Drills Amid Rising Tensions

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 (KUNA) -- The Philippines and the US officially launched the 40th edition of the annual "Balikatan" joint military exercises on Monday, amid increasing regional tensions, particularly in South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
The Philippines Armed Forces announced that 6,000 of its troop, primarily from the Northern Luzon and Western WESCOM Commands, will take part in the drills, alongside 12,000 US military personnel.
Several partner nations sent smaller contingents, including 200 from Australia, 56 from Japan, 11 from the UK, and two each from France and Canada.
The exercises were inaugurated by Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., at Camp Aguinaldo, with activities scheduled to continue through May 9 across various locations on Luzon Island.
Key components of the drills include integrated air and missile defense, amphibious assault training, maritime strike operations, a multilateral naval event, and humanitarian and disaster response simulations.
In a separate statement, the Philippine military emphasized that while Balikatan does not target any specific adversary, tensions have escalated over the past two years due to China's activities in the region.
Beijing continues to assert claims over the majority of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling invalidating those claims.
The Balikatan exercises -meaning "shoulder to shoulder" in Tagalog- have been a cornerstone of the US-Philippine defense alliance since 1991 under the Mutual Defense Treaty. (end)
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