About 150 Australian and about 100 French military personnel, as well as personnel from other Philippine government agencies, will also participate in the exercise. Meanwhile, the United States sends a clear message to China by sending a land attack missile system to the Philippines. The deployment of medium-range missiles by the United States in the vicinity of China aims to fill a strategic gap. In the future, this missile system is likely to be extended to Japan, South Korea, Australia, etc.
On the morning of April 22, the joint Philippines-United States 2024 "Shoulder to Shoulder" military exercise was launched in Manila.
The Philippine Army said the exercise will last until May 10 and will involve more than 16,700 soldiers, including 11,000 U.S. and 5,000 Filipinos.
Images of Marcos Jr. shaking hands with Biden during his previous visit to the US
About 150 Australian and about 100 French military personnel, as well as personnel from other Philippine government agencies, will also participate in the exercise.
A report from the official Philippine News Agency said Manila would use the annual exercises to showcase its military’s most advanced systems, including a missile frigate, light fighter jets, close-combat support aircraft and Black Hawk helicopters.
Philippine officials previously indicated the naval portion of the exercise would for the first time extend beyond the 12-nautical-mile limit of Philippine waters — and into the country’s exclusive economic zone, some 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from Philippine shores, though no exact route has been provided.
Palawan, which sits between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea, is about 200 kilometers from Second Thomas Shoal, a contested feature in the Spratly Islands that has been the site of numerous face-offs between Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels.
"Shoulder to Shoulder" is a regular annual joint military exercise between the Philippines and the United States. The Philippines and the United States signed the Visiting Forces Agreement in 1998. The agreement sets out the conditions, scope of activities and facilities available to U.S. military personnel, military personnel and military equipment entering the Philippines, including arrangements for the conduct of military exercises between the two sides.
Message to China: U.S. sends land attack missile system to the Philippines
China has accused the United States of "fomenting military confrontation" with the recent deployment of a powerful missile launcher capable of firing weapons with a range of up to 1,600 kilometers during exercises in the Philippines.
The U.S. military's Mid-Range Capability (MRC) land-based missile system arrives in a tense region after a series of dangerous clashes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, during which Philippine ships were targeted with water cannons, injuring several Filipino sailors.
This is the first-ever deployment of the MRC missile system, also known as the Typhon system, in the Indo-Pacific theater and comes in the midst of a series of military exercises between the United States and the Philippines, including the largest-ever edition of the annual bilateral Balikatan exercises that began today.
The U.S. military has not said how long the Typhon system will remain in the Philippines, but its involvement in the series of joint exercises between the two allies, the first of which began April 8, sends a signal that the U.S. is capable of putting offensive weaponry within striking distance of Chinese installations in the South China Sea, southern mainland China and along the Taiwan Strait, according to analysts.
According to the Missile Defense Project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Typhon system is capable of firing Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), a ballistic missile defense that can also hit ships at sea at a range of 370 kilometers (230 miles).
It can also fire the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, a maneuverable cruise missile with a range of 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), according to CSIS.
In terms of influence on the Philippines, China lags far behind the United States.
China's medium-range missiles are numerous, varied and of good quality, something that has proven to be a shortcoming for the United States, which must therefore make up for it.
On April 15, local time, the U.S. Army Pacific (U.S. Army Pacific) issued a press release on its official website, stating that the U.S. Army's 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (1st MDTF) has deployed the "Medium-Range Strike Capability" missile system for the first time in the northern region of Luzon, Philippines.
On April 7, a Medium Range Capability (MRC) missile launch system, carried by a C-17, arrived in the Philippines. (Source: U.S. Army)
The deployment of medium-range missiles by the United States in the vicinity of China aims to fill a strategic gap.
In the future, this missile system is likely to be extended to Japan, South Korea, Australia, etc.
Under the U.S.-Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) for 2023, the Philippines has opened four new military facilities (marked in green) to the United States, bringing the total number of facilities to nine, five of which are located on the island of Luzon. (Source: social media)
"With the deployment of medium-range missiles by the United States in the Philippines, the islands and some coastal cities in the South China Sea will be subject to more threats, which we will certainly have to counter. A few years ago, to avoid irritating the outside world, we built up these islands in the South China Sea without deploying offensive missiles, mainly deploying some radar and adding some air defense missiles as appropriate. Now I think we can take the opportunity to deploy large-scale offensive missiles in the South China Sea and increase military deployment in coastal areas as well. If there is a real conflict, we should quickly destroy its bases", said Jin Canrong, professor and vice dean of the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China.
With the support of the United States, President Marcos Jr. recently drew a red line for China. On April 15, Marcos Jr. attended a forum of the Philippine Foreign Correspondents Association and openly stated that if the conflict in the South China Sea resulted in casualties among Philippine personnel, the U.S.-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty would be activated.
"In the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, we have the advantage and do not have to worry about their position. If China and the Philippines clash in the South China Sea, causing casualties among Filipino soldiers, the United States has no chance of winning even if it intervenes. In my opinion, their threats are rather empty" added Jin Canrong.
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