US, Filipino troops kick off biggest-ever military drills, what is the message to Beijing?

More than 17,000 US and Philippines troops are holding the largest ever joint military exercises between their countries. Called the Balikatan drills, these are an annual feature, but this year, the size and scope is bigger. For one, troops are rehearsing how to sink a ship with a rocket barrage in waters across the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits. This is where tension has been building for years between Manila and Washington on one side and Beijing on the other. China and the Philippines both lay competing claims to island groupings in the South China Sea. And this is influencing what the Philippines will be rehearsing in these latest drills.

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