(26 Apr 2023)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Zambales Province - 26 April 2023
1. Various of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launching rockets
2. Philippine soldiers firing Howitzer
3. American soldiers firing Howitzer
4. Philippine soldiers firing Autonomous Truck Mounted howitzer System (ATMOS)
5. American and Philippine soldiers firing Howitzer
6. Various of Osprey aircraft flying over tactical air command
7. Various of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspecting HIMARS
8. Marcos Jr. entering HIMARS
9. Marcos Jr. inside HIMARS
10. Marcos exiting HIMARS
11. Pan right from media to news conference
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Colonel Michael Logico, exercise leader:
"In every exercise that we do the objective is really to train. We train together because we want to take advantage also of our treaty obligations. If you are going to be ordered to risk your life for your country, you will have to take every advantage that is available to you and the advantage that we have is that we have a treaty, we have an obligation to train together.”
13. Philippine Colonel Michael Logico with Colonel Jackson Goan of the US Army spokesperson listening to journalist
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Colonel Jackson Goan, US Army spokesperson:
"Learning is always happening, every time we have an opportunity to train on a large-scale element like this, we always take away the learning points more than the successes. Because the learning points will allow us to be more successful in the future in our inoperability and our relationship and partnership together for the coming years."
15. Pan left from soldier taking photograph to Japanese and American soldiers posing
15. Japanese and American soldiers posing
STORYLINE:
American and Filipino forces pummelled a ship with a barrage of high-precision rockets, airstrikes and artillery fire in their largest war drills on Wednesday in Philippine waters facing the disputed South China Sea that would likely antagonise China.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. watched the American show of firepower from an observation tower in the coastal town of San Antonio in northwestern Zambales province, the latest indication of his strong backing of the Philippines' treaty alliance with the U.S.
Marcos has ordered his military to shift its focus to external defence from decades-long anti-insurgency battles as China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea become a top concern.
The shift in the Philippine defence focus falls in sync with the Biden administration’s aim of reinforcing an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China.
China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in the waters close to Philippine shores but which Beijing claims as its own.
The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, including at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.
Marcos watched rockets streaked into the blue sky from the US High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, a multiple rocket and missile launcher mounted on a truck that has become a crucial weapon for Ukrainian troops battling Russian invasion forces.
About 12,200 U.S military personnel, 5,400 Philippine forces and 111 Australian counterparts were taking part in the exercises, the largest since Balikatan started three decades ago.
The drills have showcased US warships, fighter jets as well as Patriot missiles, HIMARS and anti-tank Javelins, according to US and Philippine military officials.
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