Last week, we told you about annual military exercises underway in the Philippines. The maneuvers involve US and Filipino forces—and this week there are new developments. HPR’s Bill Dorman has them in today’s Asia Minute.
US warplanes will be stationed in the Philippines….as early as this week. That word came from U-S Defense Secretary Ash Carter…who’s in the Philippines as part of “Balikatan 2016”---annual military exercises named for the phrase “shoulder-to-shoulder” in Tagalog. Carter also announced that the US and the Philippines are conducting joint naval patrols of the South China Sea, a move he said would “contribute to the safety and security of the region’s waters.”
The joint naval patrols are a pretty direct response to increased Chinese military activity in the area. It’s a separate development from those exercises underway this week. On Thursday, Cobra attack helicopters from the US Marine Corps flew low over inland valleys on the island of Luzon…about three hours outside Manila. 55,000 US and Philippine soldiers took part in a simulated assault, firing half a dozen missiles from mobile launchers.
Last month, the Philippines said it would make five military bases available to US forces, though not for permanent basing of troops. As part of what the Obama Administration has called a “rebalance,” Pentagon planners want to deploy 60% of the Navy’s ships and aircraft to the Pacific by the year 2020.
