THOUSANDS of US and Filipino marines launched 10 days of joint exercises in the northern and western Philippines on Tuesday, a day after China held huge drills around Taiwan.
The annual Kamandag, or Venom, exercises are focused on defending the north coast of the Philippines' main island of Luzon, which lies about 800 kilometers from self-ruled Taiwan.
Philippine Marine Corps commandant Major-General Arturo Rojas (2nd L), US Marines exercise representative Colonel Stuart Glenn (L), and Philippine Marine Corps and exercise director Brigadier General Vicente Blanco (2nd R) take part in the opening ceremony of the Kamandag 2024 joint military exercise at the Philippine Marines officers club at Fort Bonifacio in Manila on October 15, 2024. Thousands of US and Filipino marines launched 10 days of military exercises in the northern and western Philippines on October 15, a day after China held huge manoeuvres around Taiwan. Smaller numbers of Australian, British, Japan, and South Korean forces are also taking part in the exercise, while France, Thailand, and Indonesia sent observers. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
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