In response to the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, the United States and the Philippines are strengthening military cooperation, including doubling their participation in the annual "side by side" joint exercise between the United States and the Philippines next year.

The picture shows the Philippine marines who participated in the "Side by Side" military exercise in March this year, practicing a beach landing in the northern province of Cagayan.

(Associated Press)

[Compiled by Zhang Peiyuan, Mao Yi, reporter Lu Yixuan/Comprehensive Report] CNN broadcast an exclusive interview with Liz Truss, who took office as British Prime Minister in September. She emphasized that it is necessary for the world to learn from Ukraine. Having learned lessons from the Russian invasion, the UK has resolved to work with all its allies to ensure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself in the event of a Chinese invasion, which is "very, very important".

CNN and Reuters reported that Truss said in an interview that British allies must agree on their positions on China and Russia, and she is convinced that the United States and Britain have a special relationship, especially in response to the Russian threat and China's increasingly assertive attitude. Relationships are more important.

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Although Truss did not mention that the US military will help defend Taiwan when China invades Taiwan by force, as US President Biden previously mentioned on the CBS program, she pointed out that the British government is working with the United States, Japan and Canada in the United States. The Group of Seven (G7) members of the group of industrialized nations within the group cooperate to reduce "strategic dependence" on China and ensure a "common response" from allies to threats from Beijing.

U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises to double next year

The British "Financial Times" reported on the 25th that in view of the Chinese threat and the Manila authorities starting to consider the country's role in the war in the Taiwan Strait, the United States and the Philippines are strengthening military cooperation, including participating in the doubling of the scale of the US-Philippines joint military exercise next year. , as well as full-scale combat testing in areas such as northern Luzon, adjacent to Taiwan.

Colonel Michael Logico, director of the Philippine Military Inter-Services and Transnational Joint Training Center, who held a planning meeting with the U.S. a few days ago, told the Financial Times that the U.S. and the Philippines will send 16,000 troops to participate in the "Balikatan" (Balikatan) next year. ) annual joint exercise.

At the same time, U.S. Defense Secretary Austin and Philippine Defense Secretary Jose Faustino Jr. will participate in the annual bilateral defense talks at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii on the 29th to discuss next year's five hundred A number of bilateral events, far more than this year's about 300 events.

This is the first time that the U.S. and Philippine defense secretaries have participated in bilateral defense talks.

Emmanuel Bautista, the former chief of staff of the three armed forces of the Philippines, emphasized that the Philippines is a "key zone" in the competition between the United States and China. Controlling the Philippines can gain a clear advantage; once a conflict breaks out, both the United States and China want to take the Philippines in order to control It is like the choke point of the waterways around the Philippines and the main route to Taiwan; for the United States, this is a supply line to Taiwan, and China wants to prevent the United States from using these waterways to supply Taiwan.

The Philippine President is concerned about the situation in the Taiwan Strait, I thank you for your continued attention

Philippine President Marcos said in New York on the 23rd that the Manila authorities are concerned about the increasing tension in the Taiwan Strait and urged all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked President Marcos for his continued attention to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.