The US and the Philippines launched the largest and most expensive iteration of their annual joint military exercises today. More than 16,000 Filipino and American soldiers are taking part in the drills dubbed Balikatan, or “shoulder to shoulder”. This comes a little more than a week after the historic trilateral summit between the US, Philippines and Japan. China has accused the Philippines of stoking tensions through Balikatan exercises, but officials have insisted that the exercises are inclusive. Buena Bernal reports.
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