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US, Philippines prepare joint military exercise next week
The United States and the Philippines will conduct joint naval drills beyond the 12 nautical miles of the Philippines' territorial waters for the first time since the annual exercise started in 1991, in areas of open sea that are claimed by China, the newspaper reported.
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and United States President Joe Biden walk up the West Wing colonnade on their way to the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 1, 2023. (AFP/Carolyn Kaster/Pool)
T
he US and the Philippines are preparing to hold a joint military exercise next week as tensions between the Philippines and China escalate in the South China Sea, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday citing more than a dozen officials.
The United States and the Philippines will conduct joint naval drills beyond the 12 nautical miles of the Philippines' territorial waters for the first time since the annual exercise started in 1991, in areas of open sea that are claimed by China, the newspaper reported.
Last week, President Joe Biden made "ironclad" defense pledges to Japan and the Philippines as he hosted his counterparts amid growing tensions with Beijing, whose actions the three leaders described as "dangerous and aggressive."
Biden cemented the United States' security commitments in the South China Sea, as repeated confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels have stoked fears of wider conflict.
"Any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty," Biden said as he met Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House.
An increasingly assertive China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines.
The tensions, combined with saber rattling over China's claims to the self-governing island of Taiwan, have prompted Biden to boost alliances in the region.
