US Marines are preparing for military training with their Philippine counterparts this month

American soldiers and sailors arrived in Manila on Thursday to prepare for a joint exercise with their Filipino counterparts on Oct. 7 to 24 as part of their six months in Southeast Asia, according to the US Department of Defense.

In a statement, the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service of this organization said that the visit to Manila of the Marine Rotational Force in Southeast Asia (MRF-SEA) aims to increase cooperation with allied forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

“We train together to strengthen our relationships and joint capabilities, and the mission of MRF-SEA is to cultivate and strengthen common values ​​and capabilities among our partners and to maintain a rules-based international order,” Colonel Stuart W. Glenn, commanding officer of the force, said in a statement.

He said the deployment of US Marines to Southeast Asia is aimed at building on “cooperative relationships” with regional partners and allies.

“The Marine Corps is dedicated to maintaining the freedom of the region and its people,” said Mr. Glenn.

The exercise will include ground and air combat, combat and medical care, military operations in urban and maritime environments (amphibious operations), said the US Department of Defense.

“If the purpose of the joint military exercise is to strengthen the Philippine-US cooperation to have a high availability of disaster recovery, fight against terrorism, fight against international crimes and other related to extraordinary security, it is important for building the capacity of the Philippines,” Rommel C. Banlaoi, president of the Philippines Society for International Security Studies, says the Viber message.

“But if its aim is to fight China, the exercises will only create regional concerns,” he added.

Tensions between the Philippines and China have worsened over the past year as Beijing continues to block shipping at Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila has a number of military personnel stationed on the beach.

Washington had abandoned its Typhoon missile program in the Philippines after joint exercises in April amid China’s demands to withdraw it from the Southeast Asian nation. The US plans to deploy it and is studying its use in regional conflicts, Reuters previously reported.

China and Russia have condemned the move, saying it could fuel an arms race in the region.

Manila is considering all security measures to prevent Chinese aggression in the waters, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo C. Teodoro, Jr. earlier he said.

The US military flew the Typhoon, which can launch missiles consisting of SM-6 missiles and Tomahawks with a range of more than 1,600 kilometers (994 miles), to the Philippines in April in what it called a “historic first” and a “significant step in our country. in cooperation with the Philippines.”

The Philippines is open to receiving the Typhoon midrange missile system, Agusan del Norte Rep. Jose “Joboy” S. Aquino II said last month, as he sponsored the Defense Department’s 2025 budget.

“MRF-SEA is commendable as while strengthening our allies in Southeast Asia, it also involves Thailand, which despite being in Southeast Asia and affected by China’s presence, is developed enough not to be dependent on it,” Hansley A. Juliano . , who teaches political science at Ateneo de Manila University, in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero earlier told foreign reporters that the Senate intends to adopt Manila’s mutual access agreement with Tokyo before the end of the year.

The military accord, signed in July, limits the flow of equipment and soldiers for military training from Japan and ensures stability in the region amid rising tensions with China.

The Philippines has a visiting forces agreement with the United States and Australia. Tokyo, which hosts the majority of US troops abroad, has similar agreements with Australia and Britain, and is negotiating another with France.

A United Nations-backed tribunal based in The Hague in 2016 dismissed China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea as illegal. Beijing rejected this decision. – John Victor D. Ordoñez