This file photo was taken during the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) war games, the biggest joint military training between Filipino and American soldiers, returns to Crow Valley gunnery range (Col. Ernesto Ravina Air Base) in Capas, Tarlac. (File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Some 3,500 Filipino and US marines will launch on Monday their annual joint exercises, focusing on territorial defense and disaster response operations, amid tense situations in the Taiwan Strait and the West Philippine Sea.
The 10-day exercises — involving a small contingent of Japanese and Korean troops as observers — will run up to Oct. 14 and take place in various training sites across Luzon, but mostly in provinces facing the West Philippine Sea and Taiwan, such as Batanes, Cagayan, Palawan and Zambales.
The Philippine Marine Corps said the drills would involve 1,057 Philippine troops, 2,500 US Marines and 30 Japanese soldiers. For the first time, the Republic of Korea Marine Corps will participate with 120 troops.
—FRANCES MANGOSING
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