Washington
In the midst of escalating tensions between Manila and Beijing over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the US military began two weeks of multilateral exercises on Monday with its Philippine allies and other foreign partners, according to source.
As per a source, Sama Sama 2023 will be the sixth and largest version of the drills as participants from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia join the US and the Philippines in the defence exercise.
In Tagalog ‘Sama Sama’ is a phrase that means ‘together’ and there could not be a better phrase to capture the spirit of this exercise, said Capt. Sean Lewis, commodore of the US Navy’s Destroyer Squadron 7, in the official US Navy release.
Together we can address a spectrum of security threats and enhance interoperability and with more nations participating than ever before, we can increase innovation and build a ready, united force that ensures stability in the region, he said. Notably, it is around 1,800 personnel from the participating nations that are involved in Sama Sama, many of them onboard warships from the Philippines, the US, the UK, Japan, and Canada.
Confrontations between Philippine warships and Chinese coast guard and marine militia forces near disputed South China Sea features are considered as posing a growing danger to regional stability.
From territorial defense to countering transnational crimes, ‘Sama Sama’ helps us to face an array of threats together, the chief of the Philippine Navy, Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci Jr, said at opening ceremonies in Manila on Monday.
