![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2-1.JPG-2.jpg\")
The South China Sea is witnessing a ramp-up of tensions as Beijing claims maritime territory and builds up reclaimed islands that act as forward military bases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Involving approximately 17,000 troops from seven countries, Balikatan 2026 is being held from Apr. 20 to May 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The primary U.S. Marine Corps participation in the counter-landing exercise was Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D), currently comprising 1\/5 Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Col. George Flynn III, commander of MRF-D, told Defense News: \u201cWe have the ability to be a global force in readiness and in support of our allies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flynn said the very fact that he was standing on that particular Palawan beach demonstrated the ability of the Marine Corps to show up when it is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can talk about all the capabilities we have, but the integration of those capabilities is the cornerstone of how this is done right,\u201d he said. \u201cThe friendships that we made being in the dirt in defensive positions alongside each other, that\u2019s what really matters about this event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maj. Gen. Thomas Savage, commander of the 1st Marine Division, was pleased with the conduct of the drill, which \u201cwas much more complex, with more countries integrated in the live-fire exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked whether the U.S. military is being sidetracked by the Iran war, Savage responded: \u201cThe United States has the capability to commit to all of our global commitments, and this alliance we have with the Philippines is rock solid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nor did all this activity and other maritime drills go unnoticed by China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Southern Command of the People\u2019s Liberation Army reported that a four-ship naval task force sailed near Luzon in response to \u201cthe current regional situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the vessels was a Dongdiao-class intelligence gathering ship to soak up signals and electronic emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Capt. Paul Michael Hechenova, commanding officer of the Philippine frigate BRP Miguel Malvar, said: \u201cNo confrontation, no radio challenges. They\u2019re just here monitoring our activity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Afterwards, as the repulsed \u201cenemy\u201d withdrew in disorder, a coup de grace was delivered by an explosive-laden, first-person-view drone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":111543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":45,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"6":{"categories":["your-marine-corps","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-marine-corps"},"7":{"categories":["your-navy","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-navy"}}},"categories":[45,160,29,11,92,36,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3492],"class_list":["post-72735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-global","category-modern-day-marine","category-newsletters","category-training-sim"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"VQ45JWZH6FBQTORAOMGPRSOOTQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/asia-pacific\/2026\/04\/29\/us-marines-help-gun-down-beach-invaders-in-simulated-philippines-defense\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n