Repelling foreign attacks in the US-Philippines joint exercise

, the American and Philippine armies fired missiles and artillery to neutralize and repel simulated attacks in the northern waters of the Philippines in a possible confrontation with Taiwan in their annual military exercise.

The purpose of this exercise, called Balikatan 2024 or shoulder to shoulder, is to show the military power of the two countries in the region and to strengthen military relations between them in the midst of growing tensions in the region.

According to this report, in this exercise, about 200 soldiers defended the shores of the coastal city of Laoag and launched javelin missiles and howitzer war cannons. They fired machine guns to repel the enemy’s attempt to attack the beaches.

“RTL” style=”text-a..”>About 17 thousand soldiers of the American and Philippine armies annual military exercises Called “Balikatan 2024” or shoulder to shoulder, they started about 15 days ago in the midst of tensions in the South China Sea.

This exercise will be held from April 22 to May 10 in the South China Sea, while Manila and Beijing have recently had disputes and tensions in this sea, and even water cannons have been fired towards They shot each other.

At the same time, the French and Australian military, facing the aggressive behavior of China In the South China Sea, they have strengthened their defense relations, because this exercise will be held outside the territorial waters of the Philippines, they will join this naval exercise for the first time. Representatives of 14 Asian and European countries will also participate in the exercise. They are present as observers in this exercise. The Philippines plans to invite Japan to participate in this exercise next year.

In addition to this, General Michael Sedrolam, the commander of the Balikatan exercise joint forces, stated to reporters. This part of the military exercise is a tool to improve the performance of the forces alongside each other and it was not done directly against any specific enemy.

The main part of this The exercise will include naval strikes on Wednesday, where joint Philippine and US forces will sink a non-commercial naval vessel Manila.

This is despite the fact that America and the Philippines held joint exercises in the South China Sea last year.

Until now, US officials including Joe Biden have emphasized Washington’s inviolable commitment to support the Philippines against any armed attacks under the 1951 Bilateral Defense Treaty.

US-Philippines military exercise begins

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