U.S. Warplanes Join South China Sea Build Up

A-10 Ground Attack Jets, H-60G Pavehawk Helicopters, MC-130H Combat Talon Special Forces Infiltration Aircraft along with 200 Crew Members – Will take part in 10 days of joint drills. This exercise is conducive with U.S. – Phillippines joint-nation patrols that began last month. Last month a show of force exercise that included a joint U.S. – Filipino 8,500 troops and showed U.S. Marines who test fired advances long-range rocket systems.

“The U.S. will start stationing warplanes in the Philippines this week as the vanguard of a major upcoming deployment to the Southeast Asian country, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced Thursday.

The U.S. and the Philippines also began joint patrols of the South China Sea last month, Mr. Carter revealed. These moves come amid growing concern that China has plans to build a military base at a disputed reef within striking distance of Manila.

“In the South China Sea, China’s actions…are causing anxiety and raising regional tensions,” Mr. Carter told reporters at the presidential palace, where he met President Benigno Aquino III. The U.S. deployment is designed “to tamp down tensions here” and wouldn’t provoke a showdown with Beijing, he said.

China’s defense and foreign affairs ministries didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Beijing has previously said that U.S. alliances and military cooperation shouldn’t infringe on the interests of other nations. The state-run newspaper China Daily earlier Thursday quoted a defense ministry spokesman as reiterating that position and saying that a reinforced “military alliance is a sign of Cold War thinking.”