US and Philippine forces canceled ship training during World War II and sank too early
MANILA, Philippines (AP) – The Philippine Navy ship during World War II will be accidentally stuck by U.S. and Philippine troops within a Monday hour before the simulated attack, prompting Philippine military officials to say prompting the exercise to be cancelled.
BRP Miguel Malvar, who was retired by the Philippine Navy in 2021, dragged water in the thick waters facing the controversial South China Sea and was close to the West Palestinian province in the western Philippines. When the ship was listed and then sunk, no one was on board.
Despite Malvar’s premature sinking, U.S. and Philippine forces will conduct other live drills in Zambales. Philippine Navy Captain John Percie Alcos said the ship was built for the U.S. Navy patrol ship in the 1940s and was transferred to the Vietnamese Navy before the Philippine military acquisition.
“This is a 80-year-old ship that can’t stand the rough ocean,” Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Salgado told the Associated Press.
The ship link exercise is planned in an offshore area facing the controversial Scarborough Shoal, which is closely protected by the Chinese Coast Guard, Navy and alleged militia vessels.
The Philippines also claims that the fishing atoll is located about 220 kilometers (137 miles) west of Zambales. In recent years, Chinese and Philippine forces have become increasingly hostile in Scarborough’s waters and airspace.
In recent years, the cancelled ship drill will be the third time that the treaty allies have performed. From April 21 to September 9, one of the highlights of the annual military exercises in the United States and the Philippines should be about 14,000 participants in the United States and the Philippines.
Fighting training is called Balikatan, to the foot to shoulder Tagalog, facing the growing aggression of China in the South China Sea, Beijing has claimed almost all that it is increasingly concerned about the defense of Philippine sovereignty.
The simulated battlefield that has been staged so far, including the withdrawal of an island from hostile forces, reflects the Trump administration’s assurances, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, that the United States will abide by its treaty commitment to defend the Philippines in case of armed attacks, including the Southern Sea.
U.S., Australian and Philippine forces practiced an island in hostile forces in the coastal town of Balabac, which faced the South China Sea coastal town of Palawan.
Salgado said the Japanese and British Marines joined observers in the combat exercises, “demonstrating the growing interoperability and cohesion between partner countries in maintaining regional security.”
“What we’ve seen since Trump returned to the White House is a significant continuity of the US-Philippine Alliance, not only in joint military exercises, but also in U.S. statements that the alliance is “Ironclad.”
“The Trump administration is trying to withstand pressure on China through support for the Philippines,” Grossman said. But it is not clear “because the Trump administration appears to have far fewer hawks against China than its predecessors.”
China strongly opposes exercises involving democratic American troops in the South China Sea or islands near Taiwan, with Beijing claiming that the province is a province and threatening to annex by force if necessary.
However, U.S. and Philippine military officials insist that combat practices do not consider China, but a deterrent to the aggression in the region.
