The drills come on the heels of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's
decision last month to expand the United States' access to his
country's military bases - a move that has infuriated China since
the Philippines is seen as a fulcrum of geopolitical rivalry between
the two major powers.
More than 3,000 Filipino and U.S. soldiers will participate in the
three-week long annual exercises called Salaknib, which involve
multiple small-arms live-fire exercises, artillery and mortar
live-fire events, and construction projects.
"The scenarios would involve the defence of the Philippine
archipelago from potential foreign aggressors," Philippines Army
Chief Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner told reporters following the
opening ceremony.
"Since this is an army-to-army exercise, we will focus on defence
operations such as air defence and also our defence from the
shorelines," he added.
The majority of activities will take place at Fort Magsaysay, the
Philippines' largest military camp, and one of the five existing
sites the United States has access to under its Enhanced Defence
Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with Manila. Under the agreement, the
United States can use the bases for joint training, pre-positioning
of equipment and building of facilities such as runways, fuel
storage and military housing, but not to maintain a permanent
presence.
China has slammed the expanded agreement, calling it "part of U.S.
efforts to encircle and contain China through its military alliance
with this country".
"By doing these, the U.S. has not only heightened tension, driven a
wedge between China and the Philippines, but also has disturbed and
upset the joint effort of countries in this region to safeguard
peace and stability in the South China Sea," the spokesperson of the
Chinese Embassy in Manila said in a statement on Sunday.
The Philippines has yet to disclose the additional bases to which
the United States will have access, but a former military chief has
said they include bases on the island of Luzon, facing north towards
Taiwan, and on Palawan in the southwest, near the disputed Spratly
Islands in the South China Sea.
(Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
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