US and Philippine forces stage combat drills near strategic channel off southern Taiwan

By JIM GOMEZ and AARON FAVILA
Associated Press

ITBAYAT, Philippines (AP) — U.S. Marines and their Filipino counterparts have staged joint combat drills on the Philippines’ northernmost island along the strategic Bashi Channel off southern Taiwan, a flashpoint in the Washington-Beijing military rivalry. The maneuvers are part of annual military exercises that started last month, dubbed Balikatan, Tagalog for “shoulder-to-shoulder,” involving more than 16,000 American and Philippine military personnel. The drills come against the backdrop of China’s increasingly assertive actions in disputed South China Sea, where Chinese and Philippine coast guard and accompanying ships have figured in a series of increasingly tense territorial faceoffs since last year. More than 250 French and Australian forces are also participating in the drills that end on Wednesday.