US Trains To Sink Chinese Ships at Maritime Choke Point
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The United States simulated anti-ship operations in a key Western Pacific Ocean waterway during a war game in the Philippines, amid an expanding Chinese naval presence in the region.
Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment by email.
Why It Matters
The Philippines, which has signed a mutual defense treaty with Washington, forms part of the First Island Chain under a U.S. maritime containment strategy that seeks to restrict China's military access to the wider Pacific Ocean using America-aligned territories.
The joint U.S.-Philippine military drill, code-named Balikatan 2025, saw the deployment of the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), a U.S. Marine Corps anti-ship missile system, on the northern Philippine island of Batan in the Luzon Strait.
The Luzon Strait, located between Taiwan in the north and the Philippines to the south, is a key gateway for the Chinese navy, which is currently the largest in the world by hull count, as it connects the contested South China Sea in the west and the Philippine Sea in the east.
What To Know
The U.S. Marine Corps revealed details of the NMESIS deployment on Sunday. Following the insertion of the ground-based missile system on Batan Island, the 3d Littoral Combat Team's Medium-Range Missile Battery simulated strikes on nearby vessels.
The United States Marine Corps conducts a simulated fire-mission with the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System on Batan Island in the Philippines on April 26, 2025.
The United States Marine Corps conducts a simulated fire-mission with the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System on Batan Island in the Philippines on April 26, 2025.
Lance Cpl. Maksim Masloboev/U.S. Marine Corps
The NMESIS consists of a pair of containers for launching the Naval Strike Missile, which are mounted on an unmanned vehicle. The missile is capable of striking enemy ships more than 100 nautical miles (115 miles) away.
During the event, officially known as Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations, the U.S. Marine Corps and its Philippine counterparts conducted "sensing operations," which saw them establish radars on Batan and nearby islands to identify and observe passing ships.
The NMESIS deployment in the Luzon Strait on April 26 comes after a Chinese aircraft carrier, CNS Shandong, passed through the strait as it reached the Philippine Sea from the South China Sea on April 23. It was spotted returning to the South China Sea two days later.
Exercise Balikatan 2025, which is the 40th iteration of the annual war game between the two allies, is taking place from April 21 to May 9 in the Philippines, advancing what the U.S. Marine Corps calls "shared commitment to and support for a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
The Chinese Defense Ministry previously said military cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines should not "target or hurt" the interests of other countries, warning that the East Asian power will "resolutely safeguard" the country's sovereignty, rights and interests.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General Michael Cederholm, commander of the U.S. Joint Task Force, said: "The training we conduct during Exercise Balikatan continues to validate our modernization efforts and improves our ability to defend our shared interests within the region."
Philippine Army Brigadier General Mike Logico, Exercise Balikatan spokesperson, said: "Every country big or small has an absolute and inalienable right to defend itself. Maritime Key Terrain Security Operations training increases our combined ability to secure and defend our territories."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the NMESIS will remain in the Philippines following the conclusion of Exercise Balikatan 2025. Another U.S. missile system, the U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability, remained in the Southeast Asian country after the end of a drill last year.
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