MANILA: One day after China conducted massive drills around Taiwan, thousands of U.S. and Filipino marines began a 10-day joint exercise in the northern and western Philippines on Tuesday, October 15.
The goal of the yearly Kamandag, or Venom, exercises is to protect the north coast of Luzon, the main island of the Philippines, which is located roughly 800 kilometres from Taiwan, which is a self-governing territory.
Beijing has declared that it will never rule out using force to annex Taiwan, which it views as part of its territory. It described Monday’s drills as a “stern warning” to “separatist” forces on the island.
The joint US-Filipino drills coincide with a string of intensifying clashes between China and the Philippines over South China Sea reefs and seas, which Beijing claims nearly entirely.
During Tuesday’s opening ceremony in Manila, Major-General Arturo Rojas, commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, emphasised that Kamandag was meticulously planned and had “nothing to do with whatever is happening in the region.”
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