US and Philippine joint combat drills show Trump is not scaling back

About 14,000 American and Filipino forces will take part in battle-readiness exercises in the Philippines, including live-fire drills, in a largescale deployment that shows the Trump administration is not scaling back its commitment to help deter aggression in the region, a senior Philippine military official said yesterday.

The annual joint Balikatan — Tagalog for “shoulder-to-shoulder” — exercises between the longtime allies will be held from April 21 to May 9 and involve about 9,000 United States and 5,000 Filipino military personnel. They will involve fighter aircraft, navy ships and an array of weaponry, including a U.S. anti-ship missile system, Philippine Brig. Gen. Michael Logico said. Australia will deploy about 200 military personnel. and Japan and a number of other friendly nations will send smaller military delegations.

China has frowned on such war drills in or near the disputed South China Sea and in northern Philippine provinces close to Taiwan, especially those that involve the U.S. and allied forces that Beijing says aim to contain it and consequently threaten regional stability and peace. Logico said the Balikatan exercises were not aimed at any particular country.

China conducted large-scale drills in the waters and airspace around Taiwan this month that included an aircraft carrier battle group as it renewed a warning to Taiwan against seeking formal independence.

U.S. Marine Col. Doug Krugman, of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, told reporters most of the joint exercises would be staged within Philippine territory except for multi-nation sea exercises, which he did not specify.

Trump’s “ America First “ foreign policy thrust has triggered concerns in Asia a bout the scale and depth of U.S. commitment to maintain a longstanding security presence in the volatile region.

“As you can see, there is no scale back,” Logico said during a news briefing. “We’re talking about a full battle test.”

The comprehensive drills would generally involve a command post issuing orders to field forces in mock battle scenarios, according to Logico and Krugman.

The exercises will include aerial surveillance, the use of a barrage of artillery and missile fire to sink a mock enemy ship, deploying a U.S. anti-ship missile system and countering the landing of enemy forces on an island. MDT/AP