One of the largest U.S. military exercises in the Asia Pacific is underway right now, and it involves many forces based in Hawaiʻi.
For about the next three weeks, roughly 17,000 military personnel will conduct exercises in and around the Philippines. Nearly 60% of the forces are from the United States.
It's the 41st version of “Balikatan,” which is Tagalog for “shoulder to shoulder.”
What started out as a bilateral set of drills for the U.S. and the Philippines has grown to include a number of partners. Australia, New Zealand, Canada and France are taking part.
And this year for the first time, so is Japan — sending about 1,400 personnel, warships and a variety of aircraft.
Agence France-Presse reports there are plans for the Japanese to sink a World War II era minesweeper in the South China Sea using a type of cruise missile developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
These are not the only military exercises in the Pacific this week.
On Sunday, China announced it was sending a naval destroyer group on what it called a routine training drill in the western Pacific, traveling near Japan.
In a nod to Iran, the Marine general opening Balikatan said “regardless of the challenges elsewhere in the world, the United States' focus on the Indo-Pacific and our ironclad commitment to the Philippines remains unwavering.”
