US-Philippines to hold joint military exercises, China warns, New Zealand raises hope

Philippine and US forces will conduct joint exercises starting April 22, outside the Southeast Asian nation's territorial waters, in the waters opposite the South China Sea.

US and allied ships conducted exercises in the South China Sea on April 7. (Source: US Navy)

According to the Japan Times , in response to foreign reporters in Manila on April 17, Philippine Colonel Michael Logico added that the exercise would "demonstrate the combat readiness and interoperability between the armed forces" of his country and the United States.

The main exercises will take place outside Philippine territorial waters. Up to 16,700 troops will participate in the joint US-Philippines maritime exercise.

Logico asserted that the exercise was not aimed at China.

However, on April 18, Firstpost reported that Beijing warned Manila to "be sensible," emphasizing that US involvement in the South China Sea would cause even more serious instability in the region.

Also on April 18, speaking to reporters from Manila ahead of a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed “concern about the dangerous behavior we see with ships in the South China Sea.”

Expressing his desire to see de-escalation and tensions resolved through diplomatic means, Luxon stated: "Our wish in the South China Sea is to ensure that all parties genuinely respect international law, given our concerns about certain actions that constitute unsafe behavior at sea."

Responding to a question about whether New Zealand would be willing to participate in more maritime exercises in the South China Sea, Mr. Luxon replied that this had not been considered “at this time, but Wellington is prepared to consider all of that at the appropriate time.”

Mr. Luxon has discussed the South China Sea issue with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as well as Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, and it will certainly be a topic of discussion with Philippine President Marcos.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bien-dong-my-philippines-sap-tap-tran-chung-trung-quoc-canh-bao-new-zealand-neu-hy-vong-268283.html