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US-Philippines wargames to start
Thousands of American and Filipino soldiers on Monday will kick off expanded wargames, showcasing a deepening defence alliance as alarm bells ring over China
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housands of American and Filipino soldiers on Monday will kick off expanded wargames, showcasing a deepening defence alliance as alarm bells ring over China.
The 10-day exercises in the Philippines are an annual affair between the longtime allies, but this time they will involve double the number of soldiers as last year in a sign of their expanding military partnership.
The Philippines is seeking more US military and diplomatic support to fend off China's increasing forcefulness in its bid to assert sovereignty in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
In an interview with AFP last week, Philippine President Benigno Aquino said the two militaries operating side-by-side should offer a 'deterrent aspect to any entity, be it a country or Islamic radicals'. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario also said last week the Philippines planned to ask Washington for extra help in containing China.
Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the strategically important South China Sea, including areas just off the coasts of other Asian nations, using vague demarcation lines that first appeared on Chinese maps in the 1940s.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims.
