ALBAWABA - Thousands of US and Filipino marines began ten days of joint operations in the northern and western Philippines on Tuesday, a day after China conducted massive maneuvers near Taiwan.
The yearly Kamandag, or Venom, exercises are aimed at protecting the north coast of the Philippines' main island, Luzon, which is around 800 kilometers from self-ruled Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has stated that it will never rule out using force to seize it, describing Monday's drills as a "stern warning" to "separatist" troops on the island.
Maj. Gen. Arturo Rojas, head of the Philippine Marine Corps, highlighted during Tuesday's inauguration ceremony in Manila that Kamandag was long planned and had "nothing to do with whatever is happening in the region."
The drills will primarily focus on live-fire exercises around Luzon's north coast, with other actions taking place on small Philippine islands between Luzon and Taiwan.
The Philippine government said as the war exercises got underway Tuesday that one of its civilian patrol boats had been "deliberately sideswiped" by a "Chinese Maritime Militia" vessel on October 11, causing minor damage.
According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the accident occurred off Thitu, a Philippine-garrisoned island in the Spratly region, and damaged the front right portion of the BRP Datu Cabaylo.
