A ‘Balikatan’ first: PH-US drills to sink boat in WPS

by FRAncis mAngosing Inquirer.net

MANILA — Filipino and American troops will sink a target vessel near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea when the two allies carry out next month their largest joint military exercise to date, a military official told the Inquirer on Tuesday, March 14.

The Philippines and the United States have ramped up defense cooperation under President Marcos in the face of China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea and its potential invasion of Taiwan and will put on their biggest exercise in history with the participation of 17,000 troops from both sides. This is nearly twice the 8,900 soldiers who joined last year. The annual joint military exercises — called “Balikatan” or “shoulder-to-shoulder” that will run from April 11 to 28 — will feature some 12,000 US soldiers and 5,000 Filipino troops. Australia will send about a hundred soldiers, while like-minded countries