(APNews) FORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines (AP) — U.S. and Filipino forces on Thursday blasted vehicles with anti-tank missiles in combat-readiness drills in the Philippines that are part of a show of American firepower that has alarmed China.
The long-time treaty allies are holding their largest joint military exercises called Balikatan — Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder — in decades. They involve about 17,600 military personnel and will feature live-fire maneuvers, including a ship-sinking rocket attack and beach assaults to simulate retaking an island near the disputed South China Sea.
In a gunnery range at Fort Magsaysay, a northern Philippine training camp for Filipino special forces, American and Filipino troops fired Javelin guided missiles toward three target vehicles simulating a battle zone. The missiles streaked at a low altitude for more than half a kilometer (half a mile) toward their targets and exploded in a fireball that shook the ground… Read More