With the start of the maneuvers, the Philippine government announced that boat Its civilian patrol suffered minor damage on October 11 after it was “deliberately collided” with a ship belonging to the “Chinese Maritime Militia.”
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said the collision damaged the right front part of the ship about nine kilometers from Thitu Island. The unharmed crew returned the ship to Thito after completing its routine sea patrol.
The majority of these are concentrated Military maneuvers To defend the northern coast facing Taiwan, which China considers one of its provinces and which China has pledged to unify with the mainland, by force if necessary.
The annual exercises began the day after Chinese military maneuvers around Taiwan, she said Beijing It is a “stern warning” to “separatist” forces on the island.
Tensions have recently escalated between China and the Philippines, a military ally of the United States, against the backdrop of a dispute over small coral islands in the sea. China The south, which Beijing claims almost entirely.
In response to a question regarding the timing of this ManeuversThe commander of the Philippine Marine Corps, Major General Arturo Rojas, said that it had been planned for a long time and “had nothing to do with what is happening in the region.”
For his part, Colonel Stuart Glenn, representative of the US Marine Corps, said at the start of the maneuvers in: ManilaThe exercises will allow “partners and allies in the region to work together to improve” and be able to “respond to any…crisis or emergency.”
The maneuvers will include live firing on the northern coast of the Philippine island of Luzon, located about 800 kilometers south of… Taiwan. Some of them will also take place on the island of Palawan facing the South China Sea.
General Vicente Blanco, director of the Philippine side in the maneuvers, told reporters that “this is a coastal defense doctrine” according to which “a potential aggressor can move toward our territory.” He added, “We are not training to participate in combat.”
Everyone participates US The Philippines has a little more than a thousand soldiers in these maneuvers, while the Australian, British, Japanese, and South Korean forces are represented in smaller numbers. And sent France Thailand and Indonesia are observers.
