The United States has mobilized 10,000 troops in the Philippine Sea for a joint exercise with the Japanese Navy “in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific” — a clear message to China.
The U.S. and its allies have expressed serious concerns about Beijing’s attempts to lay claim to numerous swathes of the South China Sea, which is populated with small islands that China claims or appears eager to control. There are said to be significant oil, natural gas and mineral deposits on these islands and under the seafloor.
