CHINA-US: SOUTH CHINA SEA
|
The US and the Philippines have doubled the size of their annual 10-day exercises, called Balikatan, at locations that include a Philippines' naval station 220 kilometres from Scarborough Shoal, a hotly contested area that has been occupied by China since 2012. The war games will begin on April 20, 2015, and Australian military personnel are being deployed to participate in three-nation war games. The Australian Defence Force is sending 70 personnel and one Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion patrol aircraft to the exercise, a Defence spokeswoman said. While the Philippines insists the exercise is not a show of force against China, US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter on Wednesday kicked off his first Asian tour with a stern warning against the militarisation of territorial rows in the region. He said Washington and Manila had shared interests in the region, including a desire to ensure there were no changes in the status quo by force, adding "We take a strong stance against the militarisation of these disputes."
The warning comes days after US Admiral Harry Harris, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said in Australia that China's building of a string of new islands in the South China Sea posed a serious threat to stability in the strategically vital and resource rich region that stretches across some of the world's busiest sea lanes.
(Comment: The doubling of the war games to involve more than 12,000 military personnel, more than 100 aircraft and four ships follows a US-Philippines agreement last year that will allow a larger American presence in the Philippines.)
|