
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter will observe the drill after arriving next week, the first US defense chief to do so, Reuters said.
Manila played down any suggestion that the Balikatan ("Shoulder-to-Shoulder") exercise, which will simulate retaking an oil-and-gas platform and practice an amphibious landing, targeted any specific country.
Asked if the drill's scenarios include a potential security crisis in the South China Sea, Lieutenant-General John Toolan, commander of US Marine forces in the Pacific, said, "It does, absolutely," according to Reuters.
Toolan said a mobile rocket system that has been deployed in various areas, including Afghanistan, will be used during the exercise for the first time. "We can move this stuff anywhere we need to."
Rene de Castro, an international studies professor at De La Salle University in Manila, told Agence France-Presse that the drills appeared to have China's presence in the South China Sea in mind.
"Looking at the features of Balikatan — the mobile missile-launchers, the fighter planes — that is an indication that the alliance is being geared for territorial defense," he said.
President Xi Jinping told US President Barack Obama on March 31 during their meeting on the sidelines of the nuclear summit in Washington that China would not accept any behavior under the guise of freedom of navigation that violates its sovereignty.
![]() |
The evolution of J-10 fighter
Top 10 Asian beauties in 2016
Train rides through blossoms
HD pictures of battleships of PLA Navy
East Sea Fleet conducts combat drills
Sophie Marceau goes square dancing in Guangzhou
Police officers learn Wing Chun in E. China
Charming models compete in super model contest in Beijing
Beauties wearing Tang dynasty costume pick tea leaves
Top 20 hottest women in the world in 2014
Top 10 hardest languages to learn
10 Chinese female stars with most beautiful faces
China’s Top 10 Unique Bridges, Highways and Roads
My tiger mother controlled me with Chinese food
Shanghai court finds against maternity tourism company
Pranks under fire after video of celeb wedding shows actress harassment
For foreigners, Chinese talent and reality shows offer a chance to hit it bigDay|Week