US starts military drills with Philippines near South China Sea

The 11-day annual military exercise dubbed “Phiblex” began on Monday with around 5,000 American and Filipino troops participating for the purpose of testing the two countries’ readiness to respond to emergencies.
 
The main site of the maneuvers is Palawan province near the South China Sea, but the exercise will also be held in Subic Bay once used to be the largest American naval base outside the US.
 
The war games focus on maritime security and territorial defense operations and involve practice boat raids, beach landing, live fire exercise and armored maneuvers.
 
In addition, USS Peleliu and USS Germantown, the two US amphibious ships, are participating in the exercise.
 
"We're hoping to gain new techniques from the US Marine Corps," said Captain Reyson Talingdan, head of the public affairs of the Philippines' 3rd Marine Brigade in Palawan.
 
The US embassy in the Philippines issued a statement, saying "the field training exercises will provide the Philippines and US marine units multiple opportunities to continue to improve their skills while sharing best practices and enhancing an already high level of cohesion."
 
The Philippines has been advancing its naval capabilities to guard its economic zone in the South China Sea, which is for the most part claimed by Beijing.
 
Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam are other countries which claim to own parts of the sea which is said to be rich in oil and minerals.