US, Philippines launch war games after China's Taiwan drills, ship collision
The Peninsula
Manila: Thousands of US and Filipino troops launched joint exercises in the northern and western Philippines on Tuesday, after China held huge drills...
Manila: Thousands of US and Filipino troops launched joint exercises in the northern and western Philippines on Tuesday, after China held huge drills around Taiwan and a Chinese vessel collided with a Filipino patrol boat.
The annual Kamandag, or Venom, exercises are focussed on defending the north coast of the Philippines' main island of Luzon, which lies about 800 kilometres (500 miles) 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 drills a "stern warning" to "separatist" forces on the island.
The joint US-Filipino exercises also come days after a collision between a Chinese and a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea.
It was the latest in a series of confrontations between the two countries in the strategic waterway claimed almost entirely by Beijing.
