Philippines, US launch large joint military drills

This handout photo taken on May 6, 2017 and released by the Philippine Department of Agriculture-Agriculture and Fisheries Information Division on February 6, 2018 shows a Philippine Coast Guard ship sailing along Benham Rise, off the east coast of the main Philippine island of Luzon. HANDOUT AFP MANILA - The United States and the Philippines kicked off their large-scale annual joint military drills in the Southeast Asian country on Monday.

The participants in the exercise, codenamed Balikatan 2022, include 3,800 Filipino and 5,100 US military personnel, as well as observers from various armed forces in the region. Balikatan 2022 will be conducted as the largest iteration of the Philippines-US joint drills since 2015, across the main Luzon island from March 28 to April 8.

The military said the drills will focus on maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban operations, aviation operations, counterterrorism and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. It also includes a command post exercise that tests both forces' ability to plan, command and communicate in a simulated environment.

Balikatan, a Tagalog phrase for shoulder-to- shoulder, is the most comprehensive joint military exercise among several regular Philippines-US military exercises. The Visiting Forces Agreement allows US troops a legal basis to be in the Southeast Asian country for bilateral exercises, and governs the conduct of US armed force personnel.

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Some Philippine politicians have expressed concerns that the military exercise could threaten regional security.

Ka Leody de Guzman, the president and labor leader, said he is uncomfortable with the military training exercise, calling it provocative. He said the Philippines should pursue an independent foreign policy, stressing that the country should not be a pawn.