US and Philippine forces launch combat drills in the disputed South China Sea

By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — American and Filipino forces have launched their largest combat exercises in years in a show of allied firepower that will include joint sails with the French navy and a ship-sinking drill near the disputed South China Sea that has alarmed Beijing. The annual exercises by the longtime treaty allies called Balikatan — Tagalog for “shoulder-to-shoulder” — will run up from Monday to May 10 and involve more than 16,000 of their military personnel along with more than 250 French and Australian forces and observers from 14 countries. China strongly opposed the exercises, saying the Philippines was “ganging up” with countries from outside Asia in an obvious reference to the United States, and warned the drills could instigate confrontation and undermine regional stability.