US, Philippines hold largest war drills near disputed waters
The United States and the Philippines are launching their largest combat exercises in decades that will involve live-fire drills, including a boat-sinking rocket assault in waters across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait that will likely inflam... MANILA, Philippines -- The United States and the Philippines on Tuesday launch their largest combat exercises in decades that will involve live-fire drill s, including a boat-sinking rocket assault in waters across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait that will likely inflame China. The annual drills by the longtime treaty allies called Balikatan — Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder — will run up to April 28 and involve more than 17,600 military personnel. It will be the latest display of American firepower in Asia, where Washington has repeatedly warned China over its increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed sea channel and against Taiwan. The Biden administration has been strengthening an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pac...