Latest news with #ArmedForcesOfThePhilippines
SBS Australia
4 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
The Philippines and India forge Strategic Partnership
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, has signed 18 business agreements during his State Visit to India. President Marcos attended the Philippines-India Business Forum in Bengaluru, India The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Australian Defense Force will take part in military exercises, Exercise Alon 2025 this August. From August 15 to August 29 it will take part in various locations in the Philippines with the United States Marine Corps and Royal Canadian Navy joining the military exercise. LISTEN TO SBS Filipino 08:46 Filipino 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino 📲 Catch up episodes and stories – Visit or stream on Spotify , Apple Podcasts , Youtube Podcasts , and SBS Audio app.
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
India and the Philippines stage joint sail and naval drill in the disputed South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — India and the Philippines staged joint sail and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea for the first time, a high-profile military deployment that will likely antagonize China. Beijing has separate territorial disputes with the two Asian democracies and a long-running regional rivalry with New Delhi. Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said Monday that the two-day joint naval sail and exercises which began Sunday have been successful so far and expressed hopes that Filipino forces could engage India's military in more joint maneuvers in the future. Asked if Chinese forces carried out any action in response, Brawner said without elaborating that 'we did not experience any untoward incident but we were still shadowed. We expected that already.' In past joint patrols with other foreign navies, Chinese navy and coast guard ships have kept watch from a distance, according to the Philippine military. China has a longstanding land border dispute with India in the Himalayas, which sparked a monthlong war in 1962 and a number of deadly firefights after. Separately, Beijing's expansive claims to virtually the entire South China Sea, a key global trade route, has led to tense confrontations with other claimant states, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam. Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to parts of the contested waters. The Philippines has staged naval patrols in the disputed waters with its treaty ally, the United States, and other strategic partners including Japan, Australia, New Zealand and France to promote freedom of navigation and overflight and strengthen deterrence against China. It has allowed journalists to join territorial sea and aerial patrols to witness China's increasingly aggressive actions, provoking angry Chinese reactions. In response to a question last week about Manila's plans to build up military cooperation, China's Ministry of National Defense called the Philippines a 'troublemaker' that has aligned itself with foreign forces to stir up trouble in what China deems its own territorial waters. 'China never wavers in its resolve and will to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and will take resolute countermeasures against any provocations by the Philippine side,' Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Zhang Xiaogang said in a news conference. Brawner said the Philippines has to boost deterrence to prevent war. 'The way to do that is number one, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has to be strengthened through modernization and secondly, we need to partner with like-minded nations and that's what we're doing with India,' he said last week. During a reception on board an Indian navy tanker, the INS Shakti, on Thursday, Brawner said the vessel's port call in Manila was more than ceremonial. It 'sends a powerful signal of solidarity, strength in partnership and the energy of cooperation between two vibrant democracies in the Indo-Pacific,' he said. Brawner welcomed the deepening of relations between the two Asian countries and 'reaffirmed the shared commitment to maritime security, regional stability and a rules-based international order in one of the world's most geopolitically sensitive regions.' Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos left Monday for a five-day state visit to India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials to boost defense, trade and investment, agriculture, tourism and pharmaceutical industry engagements. Solve the daily Crossword
South China Morning Post
17-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Is Philippines' debut in Australia-US war games the ‘new normal' in regional defence ties?
The Philippines is taking part for the first time in Australia 's largest bilateral military exercises with the United States , joining thousands of troops from across the region for war games running until July 27. Analysts say the move reflects Manila's broader strategy of reinforcing defence ties, not just with Washington but also with like-minded regional powers, as US allies increasingly seek to diversify their security relationships and assert greater strategic autonomy amid uncertainty over US President Donald Trump 's foreign policy. Thirty-two personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines are taking part in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, which is being held in several Australian cities, including Rockhampton, Townsville, Brisbane and Sydney. The biennial drills feature more than 35,000 troops from 19 nations, including Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom. The exercises are reportedly expected to draw surveillance from China, and also mark the use of Australia's newly acquired M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, a long-range weapon system the country has recently purchased from the US. Colonel Xerxes Trinidad, chief of the armed forces' public affairs office, said Manila's participation 'reflects the Philippines' commitment to regional peace and security and further strengthens military ties with key allies and defence partners'.
