30-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
US, Philippines flex military muscle with Himars live-fire drills near South China Sea
Long-time allies the
United States and the Philippines have flexed their military muscle by firing six rockets in a defence drill on Palawan Island, in a show of sustained American commitment to Manila.
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Defence experts say the show of strength from the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars) could signal its potential long-term deployment, much like the Typhon arsenal that previously raised
China 's ire.
They caution however that it would be premature to consider it as sign of a golden age in US-Philippine relations under President
Donald Trump
On Monday, about 500 troops from the
Philippines , the US and
Australia conducted a maritime interdiction drill in Rizal, where Manila's navy intercepted a remote-controlled vessel approaching the coast.
Part of this year's ongoing large-scale
Balikatan – or shoulder to shoulder – exercise, the drill culminated in a precision strike showcasing the Himars system's quick and accurate response to amphibious threats.
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'We achieved everything we set out to achieve,' US Marines commander Major General Thomas Savage told reporters. 'We're trying to demonstrate a capability to work together. The exercise you saw is agnostic of an enemy. If somebody is trying to interfere with a sovereign nation, that's what we're trying to demonstrate.'
