US, Philippine forces sink ship during drills
Odinga
LAOAG, Philippines, May 8, (AP): US and Philippine forces, backed by an Australian air force surveillance aircraft, unleashed a barrage of highprecision rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes Wednesday and sank a mock enemy ship as part of largescale war drills in and near the disputed South China Sea that have antagonized Beijing.
Military officials and diplomats from several countries watched the display of firepower from a hilltop along a sandy coast in Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s northern home province.
More than 16,000 military personnel from the United States and the Philippines, along with a few hundred Australian troops and military observers from 14 countries, were participating in annual combat-readiness drills called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder. The drills, which started April 22 and end Friday, include a scenario of a foreign invasion of the Philippine archipelago.
It’s the latest indication of how the United States and the Philippines have bolstered a defense treaty alliance that started in the 1950s amid their concern in recent years over China’s increasingly aggressive actions in disputed territories in Asia.
Marcos has ordered his military to shift its focus to external defense from decades-long domestic anti-insurgency operations as China’s actions in the South China Sea become a top concern. That strategic shift dovetails with the efforts of US President Joe Biden and his administration to reinforce 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 ships with powerful water cannons, a military-grade laser, blocking movements and other dangerous maneuvers in the high seas near two disputed South China Sea shoals. They have led to minor collision that have injured several Filipino navy personnel and damaged supply boats.
“We’re under the gun,” Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
MELBOURNE, Also: Australia:
account blaming Australia for a dangerous clash between their military aircraft in international airspace over the Yellow Sea failed to undermine Australian objections, Prime Minister
said Wednesday.
Anthony Albanese China’s
- according to civil society groups.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga last week warned the government against demolishing more houses without a resettlement
The Chinese and Australians lodged official protests and blamed each other for a Chinese warplane’s extraordinary use of flares against an Australian navy helicopter Saturday.
The Seahawk’s pilot had to “take evasive action” to avoid flares that were dropped in the helicopter’s flightpath by a Chinese Chengdu J-10 fighter jet, Australian officials said.
There was no injury or damage done, although experts warned the helicopter could have been forced to ditch at sea if an engine had been struck by a flare.
Australia publicly accused China of unprofessional and unacceptable behavior, while China retorted that the Seahawk deliberately flew close to China’s airspace in a “provocative move.”
Albanese said he rejected China’s argument that the Australians had been at fault.
He highlighted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian’s statement that plan in place. (AP)
‘Dozens ❑ ❑ still missing’:
the helicopter “flew within close range of China’s airspace” in attacking the Chinese case.
❑ ❑ ❑ PHNOM PENH, Cambodia:
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry insisted Wednesday that the months-long presence of two Chinese warships in a strategically important naval base that is being newly expanded with funding from Beijing does not constitute a permanent deployment of the Chinese military in the country.
Questions had arisen after the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported last month that two Chinese corvettes that docked at the Ream Naval Base’s new pier in December had maintained a nearly permanent presence there since.
Current satellite images, analyzed by The Associated Press, confirm that the two ships remained there on Wednesday, more than five months since they initially appeared.