A screen shows a Chinese aircraft carrier at the opening of the Western Pacific Navy Symposium in Qingdao, eastern China's Shandong province on April 22, 2024
RIVAL shows of strength began in the China seas today, as the US and Filipino navies launched their largest combat exercises in decades just as an international naval summit kicked off in the Chinese city of Qingdao.
Over 16,000 US and Filipino troops will be joined by a few hundred French and Australian personnel for conflict scenarios across the South China Sea, where the Philippines is one of several countries with territorial and maritime rights disputes with Beijing.
China accused the Philippines of “ganging up” on it with a power from outside the region that had no business there, a clear reference to the US.
From 35,000 troops in Talisman Sabre war games to HMS Spey provocations in the Taiwan Strait, Labour continues Tory militarisation — all while claiming to uphold ‘one China’ diplomatic agreements from 1972, reports KENNY COYLE
