On Tuesday ( October 15 ), a day after China conducted extensive drills around Taiwan, thousands of US and Filipino marines began 10 days of joint exercises in the northern and western Philippines.
The monthly Kamandag, or Venom, activities are focused on defending the northern coast of the Spanish main island of Luzon, which lies about 800km from self-ruled Taiwan.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and has vowed it will never rule out using force to take it, calling Monday’s training a” harsh warning” to” rebel” troops on the island.
The Philippines and China have been engaged in escalating disputes over islands and lakes in the South China Sea, which Beijing almost exclusively says.
Major-General Arturo Rojas, the captain of the Philippine Marine Corps, stated at Tuesday’s meeting in Manila that Kamandag was “nothing to do with whatever is happening in the region” and that it had been much planned.
Live-fire training will be the main focus of the training, and smaller, illustrious Filipino islands will be used as a border between Taiwan and Luzon.
” It’s a southern military doctrine. The theory says that a would-be attacker may be directed towards our territory”, Filipino exercise producer Brigadier-General Vicente Blanco told investigators.
” We are not exercising to join the fight ( over Taiwan )”, he added.
Colonel Stuart Glenn, a consultant for the US Marines, stated that the activities were intended to assist the United States and its allies in “any problems or situations.”
Part of the training will take place on Palawan, a northern Spanish area that is close to the disputed South China Sea.