The US Army is introducing joint battlefield training in the Philippines to improve combat readiness, including by ensuring adequate supply of ammunition and other needs in difficult conditions in tropical jungles and on scattered islands, a US general said.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China, including in any confrontation over Taiwan.
The US moves dovetail with Philippine efforts to shore up its territorial defenses amid disputes with China in the South China Sea.
Photo: EPA-EFE
About 2,000 US and Philippine army forces are to join the days-long combat drills backed by helicopters and artillery fire against armed adversaries in a jungle setting in the northern Philippines in June, Major General Marcus Evans, commanding general of the US Army’s 25th Infantry Division, said on Sunday.
The combat training would be held in the Philippines for the first time at Manila’s request. It is not clear whether the treaty allies would decide to turn the maneuvers into an annual exercise, Evans said.
The drills from June 1 to 10 come at the conclusion of two larger back-to-back exercises between the allied forces — the Salaknib army-to-army exercises, which opened on Monday, and the Balikatan, which are to start later this month and involve about 16,000 US and Philippine troops. Several nations, including Japan, are to send observers.
The combat-readiness drill “provides an excellent venue for us to get better in terms of our warfighting readiness, to enhance our partnership and then strengthen both our army profession by working together in a very challenging environment,” Evans said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
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