REUTERS, Manila

Philippine and US forces will carry out maritime strike drills on a remote Philippine island near Taiwan during annual exercises that started on Monday, which Manila’s military chief said would test their readiness under “real‑world conditions”.

The April 20 to May 8 exercises known as “Balikatan”, or “shoulder-to-shoulder”, will be the largest yet in terms of participating countries, with Australia included again and Canada, France, New Zealand and Japan joining as active participants for the first time, highlighting Manila’s widening network of security partnerships.

The exercises will involve practising precision strike and interdiction operations in coastal waters of the Philippines and will feature integrated air and missile defence exercises, multinational maritime operations, and counter‑landing, live‑fire drills.

Launching the exercises, Philippine armed forces chief Romeo Brawner said their purpose was to reaffirm the strength of their alliance and their responsibility to secure the region.

“We train across the breadth of our archipelago ... testing our readiness in real-world conditions across all domains,” Brawner said.

More than 17,000 troops are taking part, including about 10,000 from defence treaty ally the United States, even as Washington remains heavily engaged in the Middle East.