The United States simulated anti-ship operations in a key Western Pacific Ocean waterway during a war game in the Philippines, amid an expanding Chinese naval presence in the region. Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment by email. The Philippines, which has signed a mutual defense treaty with Washington, forms part of the First Island Chain under a U.S. maritime containment strategy that seeks to restrict China’s military access to the wider Pacific Ocean using America-aligned territories. The joint U.S.-Philippine military drill, code-named Balikatan 2025, saw the deployment of the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), a U.S. Marine Corps anti-ship missile system, on the northern Philippine island of Batan in the Luzon Strait. The Luzon Strait, located between Taiwan in the north and the Philippines to the south, is a key gateway for the Chinese navy, which is currently the largest in the world by hull count, as it connects the contested South China Sea in the west and the Philippine Sea in the east. The U.S. Marine Corps revealed details of the NMESIS deployment on Sunday. Following the insertion of the ground-based missile system on Batan Island, the 3d Littoral Combat Team’s Medium-Range Missile Battery simulated strikes on nearby vessels.

Full report : The United States training in anti-ship operations in Philippines, amid an expanding Chinese naval presence in the region.