On Sunday, May 5th, the military forces of the United States, the Philippines, and Australia conducted a tactical exercise on strategic islands near Taiwan, in preparation for potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait or South China Sea.
According to the U.S. military news outlet “Stars and Stripes,” earlier on Sunday, 76 members of the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division stationed in Hawaii, along with a dozen Australian soldiers, gathered on Calayan Island in the Luzon Strait between Luzon Island in the Philippines and Taiwan.
The American and Australian soldiers were transported by UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters operated by the 25th Aviation Brigade, traveling 80 miles north to Batan Island in the Philippines. This island is a dumbbell-shaped landmass located about 120 miles south of Taiwan.
The helicopters landed on a grassy field near Boulder Bay, where they were welcomed by 35 Filipino soldiers who had arrived the day before.
“Our main goal is to continue to integrate with our partners, the Philippines and Australia,” said U.S. Army Lieutenant Mike Shipley on Batan Island to “Stars and Stripes.” “One day, we may find ourselves fighting alongside these people on the battlefield.”
Batan Island and its neighboring islands are adjacent to the Bashi Channel, connecting the Philippines and the South China Sea, where territorial disputes exist between Beijing and many neighboring countries, including the Philippines.
The channel serves as a route for the Chinese Navy to access Taiwan’s east coast and the Pacific Ocean, and also potentially as a transit point for the U.S. military from Guam to the Taiwan Strait.
While the Chinese Communist Party has never governed Taiwan, it claims sovereignty over the island. The CCP leader Xi Jinping has stated that he does not rule out the use of force to unify Taiwan. However, Western countries have consistently expressed opposition to any use of force to alter the peaceful status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
The aerial assault exercise on Batan Island is part of the annual “Balikatan” exercises, which began on April 22nd and are scheduled to conclude next Friday, May 10th. This year’s exercises also involve observers from 14 countries.
During the exercises, participants will carry out a range of cross-domain complex missions, including maritime security, sensing and targeting, air and missile defense, dynamic missile strikes, cyber defense, and information warfare. The Philippine Navy, the U.S. Navy, and the French Navy will also conduct multilateral maritime exercises in the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone.
This year’s exercises will also include island seizure training, simulating the retaking of an island in Palawan Province by force. This island is located near the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines.
During last year’s exercises, U.S. and Philippine forces conducted aerial assault drills on Batan Island, Calayan Island, and Fuga Island. Then-Commander of the U.S. 25th Infantry Division, Joseph Ryan, stated that the training sent a message to China that the U.S. is prepared to defend its allies’ maritime territories at any time.