United States, Philippines hold largest joint drill ever

The United States and the Philippines kicked off their annual joint military exercises Tuesday. The exercises are called Balikatan, which is Filipino for “shoulder to shoulder,” and will run until April 28, involving thousands of American and Filipino troops. The drills are being held in the Philippines' territorial waters across from the disputed South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. China recently finished three days of military drills around Taiwan on Monday in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the U.S. last week. Balikatan exercises were previously planned and go back three decades. 

What will they do during the drills? The drills will focus on maritime and coastal defenses, with 12,000 American troops making up the majority of the troops participating. Just over 100 Australian troops are participating. The drills will include, for the first time, the live-fire sinking of a target ship in Philippine territorial waters. 

Dig deeper: Read Joyce Wu’s report in World Tour on joint military drills by the U.S. and South Korea.