Philippines holds island-seizing drills in disputed South China Sea

The Philippine military launched a two-week combat exercise on Monday, featuring a simulated island seizure in the contentious South China Sea. Approximately 3,000 personnel from the Filipino army, navy and air force will participate in the drills.

Philippine military officials emphasised that the exercises are not targeted at any specific country. However, the maneuvers come amid heightened tensions in the region. China has been rapidly expanding its military presence and aggressively pursuing territorial claims in the South China Sea which it largely claims as its own.

The disputes have led to increased confrontations, primarily with the Philippines and Vietnam, but also involving Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Taiwan. Recently, Indonesia reported that its patrol ships chased away a Chinese coast guard vessel that interfered with a state-owned energy company’s survey in a disputed area of the South China Sea.

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“Our mission today is very clear, to prepare ourselves comprehensively to respond to any external threats that might challenge our sovereignty,” Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in the opening ceremony of the exercises.

The maneuvers will include live-fire drills using artillery and assault rifles and beach landing drills. In the South China Sea, Filipino forces would simulate taking control of an island, Philippine army Col. Michael Logico told reporters without elaborating.

Asked how China may react, Logico said he expected Chinese forces to undertake surveillance from a distance but added they would not likely make any hostile move.

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“They have a front seat to the exercise. They’ll watch and we don’t mind,” Logico said.

China has opposed such combat drills in the South China Sea, particularly if American and allied forces were involved.

The outgoing Biden administration has moved to strengthen an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan. America’s moves dovetail with Philippine efforts to shore up its territorial defense amid a long-seething dispute mainly with China in the South China Sea.

Next year, U.S. and Philippines forces plan to stage their largest annual combat drills called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder, that are also expected to include maneuvers in contested South China Sea areas.

With inputs from agencies.