Thousands of United States (US) and Philippine troops conducted\nlarge-scale war exercises with a contingent of Japanese forces on Monday\n(20\/4) local time. These war drills were held against the backdrop of\nthe still-heating Middle East situation.<\/p>\n
This marks the first time Japanese forces have joined the annual\nUS-Philippine military exercises.<\/p>\n
China reacted strongly to the joint exercises of the three countries,\nwith some locations in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.<\/p>\n
The war exercises, as reported by AFP on Monday (20\/4\/2026), will\nfeature live-fire training in northern Philippine areas facing the\nTaiwan Strait, as well as in a Philippine province off the disputed\nSouth China Sea, where Manila and Beijing forces have repeatedly\nclashed.<\/p>\n
In one training session, Japanese military will use Type 88 cruise\nmissiles to sink a World War II-era minesweeper off the northern coast\nof Luzon Island. Japan is deploying 1,400 military personnel for these\nexercises.<\/p>\n
In total, more than 17,000 troops, pilots, and sailors will\nparticipate in the 19-day Balikatan military exercises. This number is\nnearly the same as last year\u2019s, which included contingents from\nAustralia, New Zealand, France, and Canada.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Balikatan military exercises are taking place as the US\nand Israel are at war with Iran, with a two-week ceasefire about to\nend.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite challenges in other parts of the world, the United States\u2019\nfocus on the Indo-Pacific and our steadfast commitment to the\nPhilippines remain unshaken,\u201d said Commander of the US Marine\nExpeditionary Force, Lieutenant General Christian Wortman, at the\nopening ceremony on Monday (20\/4).<\/p>\n
He stated that around 10,000 US military personnel will participate\nin the exercises.<\/p>\n
Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner added that the US\nIndo-Pacific Command chief, Admiral Samuel Paparo, assured him that this\nyear\u2019s Balikatan exercises will be \u201cthe largest in history\u201d.<\/p>\n
While both countries insist that no exercises will be held \u201cnear\nTaiwan\u201d, coastal defence training is being conducted less than 200\nkilometres from the island\u2019s southern coast.<\/p>\n
China has fiercely criticised the joint exercises, calling the US,\nPhilippines, and Japan \u201cplaying with fire\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the Asia-Pacific region needs most is peace and stability, and\nwhat it needs least is the entry of external forces to sow division and\nconfrontation,\u201d said spokesperson for China\u2019s Foreign Ministry, Guo\nJiakun, at a press conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to remind the countries concerned that blindly tying\nthemselves together in the name of security will only amount to playing\nwith fire\u2014which will ultimately backfire on themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-philippines-japan-conduct-large-scale-war-drills-china-furious-1776685855", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }