U.S. and Philippines hold their largest war drills ever
NBCNov 26, 2022
Philippines, US Launch Largest-Ever Joint Military Drills
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Image copyright: AFP/Getty Images [via Financial Times]
The Facts
The US and the Philippines on Tuesday kicked off their biggest-ever joint military exercises amid the rising rivalry between Washington and Beijing in the disputed South China Sea.
With about 12K US troops, 5.4K members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and more than 100 Australian forces, the number of soldiers involved in the annual drills, dubbed Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder), has doubled from previous years, the Financial Times reported.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
The largest US-Philippine military drills to date and the agreement to grant the US military access to four new military bases are the direct results of the Chinese regime's hegemonic posture. Beijing's increasingly assertive behavior has led to the Philippines gradually emerging as a major hub of military cooperation among Southeast Asian democracies. Washington benefits strategically from this trend while tensions continue to rise — this is China's own doing.
Pro-China narrative
The US is deliberately fomenting regional turmoil and division, and by making itself a tool for Washington's strategic interests in the South China Sea and the wider Indo-Pacific region, the Philippines is jeopardizing its own interests. Instead of holding ever-larger military exercises with the US and giving them access to more military bases, Manila should turn to its Southeast Asian neighbors and work with China and fellow ASEAN countries on stability and security in the region.
