The United States and the Philippines have launched their largest joint military exercises in decades, with over 17,600 military personnel taking part in the drills.
The annual drills, called Balikatan, a Tagalog term for shoulder-to-shoulder, will run until April 28 and involve live-fire exercises, including a boat-sinking rocket assault in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. The drills are seen by experts as a challenge to China’s dominance in the region.
“Through this exercise,…