00:00Here on the Philippines' north coast, facing the Luzon Strait and Taiwan,
00:05the US and Philippine military are conducting live-fire counter-landing drills.
00:15Using tanks, planes, infantry and artillery, they're practicing how to counter an attack
00:20from the enemy. It's one of the largest operations of Balikatan 2025.
00:24The enemy that we are fighting against here is an amphibious force coming from surface ships,
00:33deploying an amphibious force whose intent is to establish a foothold on the beaches
00:40with an intent to move inland once that mission has been accomplished. So a counter-landing is
00:47intended to stop them. This Cagayan coast is just a few hundred kilometers from Taiwan across the
00:53Luzon Strait. It's now seen as a front line in what military planners call the Taiwan Contingency,
00:59the scenario where rising tensions between China and Taiwan erupt into war.
01:05In the face of that risk, Manila is strengthening defense ties with Washington,
01:09giving greater access to US troops to areas like this, and positioning sophisticated weapon systems
01:14like anti-ship missiles closer to China. It all sends a strong signal that as tensions mount in
01:20the region, the Philippines is taking its deterrent seriously. Fu Hua Hong, David Santos and Rick
01:26Glowatt in Cagayan, the Philippines for Taiwan Plus.
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