US, Australian and Philippine forces sink a ship during war drills in the disputed South China Sea

LAOAG, Philippines — Military forces from the United States, Australia and the Philippines on Wednesday launched a barrage of high-precision missiles, artillery fire and airstrikes to sink a ship as part of large-scale war exercises in the waters opposite the disputed South China Sea Countering Beijing.

Military officials and diplomats from several countries joined journalists on Wednesday to watch the display of firepower from a hilltop along a sandy coast in Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, the northern home province of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

More than 16,000 military personnel from the United States and the Philippines, supported by a few hundred Australian troops and military observers from 14 countries, took part in the annual battle preparation exercises called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder to shoulder, which began on April 22. and ends Friday.

It is the latest indication of how the United States and the Philippines have strengthened a defense alliance that began in the 1950s.

Marcos has ordered his military to shift focus to external defense from decades-long domestic counter-insurgency operations, as China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea become a top concern. That strategic shift aligns with efforts by President Joe Biden and his administration to strengthen an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China.

China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its Navy and Coast Guard vessels using powerful water cannons, a military-grade laser, blocking movements and other dangerous maneuvers on the high seas near two disputed shoals in the South China Sea that have led to minor incidents. collisions. These caused several injuries to Philippine Navy personnel and damaged supply boats.

“We are under fire,” Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

“We don’t have the resources to combat all this bullying from China, so where else do we go?” Romualdez asked. “We went to the right party, which is the United States and those who believe in what the US is doing.”

China has accused the Philippines of instigating hostilities in the disputed waters by encroaching on what it says are offshore areas demarcated by 10 lines on a map. This has often prompted the Chinese coast guard and navy to take steps to expel the Philippine coast guard and other ships from that area. The Philippines, backed by the US and its allies and security partners, has repeatedly cited a 2016 international arbitration ruling based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that blocked China’s claim to virtually the entire South China Sea refuted on historical grounds.

China did not participate in the arbitration complaint filed by the Philippines in 2013, rejected the ruling and continues to defy it.

After an hour of combat readiness exercises, black smoke began pouring from the stern of the mock enemy ship that was hit by rocket fire and it began to sink, as seen on a monitor watched by foreign military guests and journalists. U.S. and Philippine warplanes later dropped bombs on the target ship BRP Lake Caliraya, which was made in China but decommissioned by the Philippine Navy in 2020 due to mechanical and electrical problems, Philippine military officials said.

Philippine military officials said the maneuvers would strengthen the country’s coastal defense and disaster response capabilities, claiming they were not aimed at any country. China has opposed military exercises involving U.S. forces in the region and increasing U.S. military deployments, warning it would increase tensions and hamper regional stability and peace.

Washington and Beijing are on a collision course over China’s increasingly assertive actions to defend its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s stated aim to annex Taiwan, by force if necessary.

In February last year, Marcos approved a broader US military presence in the Philippines by allowing rotating groups of US forces to stay in four more Philippine military camps. That was a sharp reversal from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who feared that a larger U.S. military footprint could antagonize Beijing.

China strongly opposed the move, which would allow U.S. forces to establish staging areas and surveillance posts in the northern Philippines across the sea from Taiwan, and in the western Philippine provinces overlooking the South China Sea.

China has warned that a deepening security alliance between Washington and Manila and their ongoing military exercises should not harm its security and territorial interests or interfere in the territorial disputes. The Philippines countered that they have the right to defend their sovereignty and territorial interests.

“An alliance is very important to show China that you may have all the ships you have, but we have a lot of firepower to sink them all,” Romualdez said.