Philippine and US Forces Conduct Major Military Readiness Drills
Annual 'Balikatan' exercises, involving forces from the Philippines, US, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and Japan, are underway. The drills are designed to test military readiness under 'real-world' conditions.
Philippine and US forces will carry out maritime strike drills on a remote Philippine island near Taiwan during annual exercises that started on Monday, which Manila's military chief said would test their readiness under "real-world conditions". The April 20 to May 8 exercises known as "Balikatan", or "shoulder-to-shoulder", will be the largest yet in terms of participating countries, with Australia included again and Canada, France, New Zealand and Japan joining as active participants for th...