US, Philippine soldiers in a joint drill (Source: AFP) Hanoi(VNA) - The US Embassy in Manila, the Philippines, announced on September 15 thatthe US will launch a joint anti-terrorism drill with the Philippines in the SoutheastAsian country and Hawaii within September.
In a statement, the embassysaid the “Tempest Wind” drill aims to test and improve the ability of bothnations to rapidly plan, coordinate, and conduct counterterrorism operations.
The two countries approvedthe drill in November 2016.
In the past decades,the Philippines has been one of the most important allies of the US in Asia,but the ties were shaken after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he didnot trust Washington and warned of an end in joint drills and bilateralagreements.
In the past, the twosides held three large-scale joint drills every year as a tradition, namelyBalikatan, CARAT and PHIBLEX, along with 28 smaller ones. Last year, theyagreed to reduce the scale and frequency of the drills as well as the number ofparticipating US soldiers.-VNA
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