American and Filipino forces launched their largest combat exercises in years Monday in a show of allied firepower that has alarmed Beijing.
“What’s next and how far are they willing to go in that area?” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command boss Adm. John Aquilino asked.
The island of Mindanao has been reeling from the effects of heavy rain, displacing an estimated 795,000 people.
The Marines have a regular drumbeat of MEUs ready to deploy. Lacking ready amphib ships, though, they're turning to other means of getting to sea.
The U.S. Navy said the ship “was conducting routine operations in international waters ... consistent with international law.”
The patrols come days after Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called the situation in the South China Sea increasingly “dire.”
China has stood by its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, clashing with its neighbors and drawing in the U.S., Manila’s treaty ally.
Positioning Marines forward in the Indo-Pacific is part of the Corps’ plan for countering a potential adversary as technologically adept as China.
Two Philippine boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in the South China Sea to deliver food and other supplies to a contested shoal.
The drill will underscore their commitment to the rule of law in the region after recent Chinese aggression, Filipino security officials said.
