American and Filipino forces fired rockets and artillery shells as part of maneuvers simulating a response to a military “invasion” operation held on the northern coast of the Philippines on Monday.
Thousands of troops are conducting land, sea and air maneuvers around the shallow water areas of the South China Sea.
American forces gathered in an area of sand dunes on the northwestern coast of Luzon Island, about 400 kilometers south of Taiwan, and fired more than 50 155-millimeter shells at floating targets about five kilometers from the coast.
The Philippine forces followed by launching missiles aimed at wearing down the attackers, before the two forces finished the mission using machine guns, Javelin missiles, and more artillery shells.
General Michael Cederholm, commander of the 1st US Marine Expeditionary Force, said that the maneuvers aim to “prepare for the worst” by “securing a key maritime area.”
Journalists from the training site reported that it was “designed to confront an invasion.”
“Our northwestern side is the most vulnerable,” said General Marvin Lisuddin, director of training for the Philippine side, before firing live ammunition in the La Paz sand dunes near the city of Laoag.
He added, “Because of the regional problems that we have…we have to really train and orient ourselves on our lands in these areas.”
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