By Zachary Keck
Later this month, the U.S. and Philippine Navies and Marines will hold a joint drill near the Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippines and the U.S. will hold joint naval drills near a disputed part of the South China Sea later this month.
On Thursday Reuters reported that the U.S. and the Philippines will hold the naval drill approximately 80 miles from the Scarborough Shoal where Chinese vessels are on continuous patrol. The report said, “Five warships, including a U.S. guided-missile destroyer, and about 1,000 troops will take part in the week-long Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) exercises, which include live-fire drills 64km off Zambales, on the western shores of the Philippine island of Luzon.”
Philippine media reports indicate that the drills will last from June 26-July 1, and will include personnel and equipment from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and their Philippine counterparts. The U.S. side will bring the USS Halsey, an Arleigh Burke-class missile-guided destroyer; the USS Ashland, a dock landing ship; and the USS Safeguard, a rescue ship, to the Philippines for the exercise. Other reports said that the U.S. will also have an “underwater construction team, Naval seabees, choppers, [an] SH60B seahawk, [a] mobile diving salvage unit, [an] explosive ordnance disposal unit, two landing craft air cushion, [and] company size amphibious assault vehicles” at the exercise.
On the other hand, the Philippines will be represented at the exercise by the Ramon Alcaraz, a former U.S. coastguard cutter, and the Emilio Jacinto, a former Hong Kong-based British Royal Navy ship. It will also “use Augusta helicopters, one Islander, a Naval Special Operations Group EOD team, three diving teams, two special boat teams, and two marine companies, [a] communications team, [a] band and logistics team and Seabees.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat