{"id":31292,"date":"2023-10-06T15:35:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T15:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/10\/06\/marines-double-down-on-ties-to-philippines-with-new-deployment\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:50:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:50:45","slug":"marines-double-down-on-ties-to-philippines-with-new-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/10\/06\/marines-double-down-on-ties-to-philippines-with-new-deployment\/","title":{"rendered":"Marines double down on ties to Philippines with new deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A newly formed Marine force that deploys to Southeast Asia for long chunks of time has headed to the Philippines as the United States is bolstering its relationship with the strategically located ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marine Rotational Force \u2013 Southeast Asia began its second rotational deployment Sept. 26 and is participating in the largest-yet iteration of the multilateral Sama Sama exercise, according to Marine Corps<\/a> and Navy<\/a> news releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike a larger Marine expeditionary unit, the rotational force consists of nearly 200 Marines and sailors, including \u201ca rifle platoon, joint terminal attack controllers, air and naval gunfire liaisons, explosive ordnance disposal Marines, and unmanned aerial systems operators, among others,\u201d Marine spokesman Capt. Larry Boyd told Marine Corps Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The structure makes the force easier to move, sustain, and scale up or down than an approximately 2,200-person Marine expeditionary unit, according to Boyd and a 2022 news release<\/a> about the force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Positioning Marines forward in the Indo-Pacific is part of the Corps\u2019 plan for countering a potential adversary as technologically adept as the Chinese military. The Marine rotational force is meant to train alongside allies and partners in Southeast Asia while also, according to a Marine Corps release, \u201cstanding ready to support crisis or contingency response in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, said in an informal video message to the force Sept. 28 following a trip to the Indo-Pacific region, \u201cIf you haven\u2019t done a tour in the INDOPACOM, your career, your professional development? Not yet complete. You need to go. It\u2019s a great place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesman for Smith later clarified to Task & Purpose that the commandant\u2019s comments about the benefits of serving in the Indo-Pacific didn\u2019t constitute a policy announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Philippines is located along the South China Sea and south of Taiwan<\/a>, the island that U.S. military leaders worry could be the site of a conflict with China. The Philippines itself has a fraught relationship with China over claims to waters in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, a Chinese coast guard ship came within 3 feet of colliding with a Philippine patrol ship it was trying to block in the South China Sea, in an alarming incident that intensified fears that territorial disputes in the waters could spark a larger crisis, The Associated Press reported. The Philippines on Friday strongly condemned the Chinese ship\u2019s maneuvers near Second Thomas Shoal, which the Asian neighbors both claim and has been the scene of frequent confrontations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in February announced that the Philippines would allow U.S. forces access to additional bases<\/a> in the country, and the Balikatan exercise<\/a> in April involving the two countries was the biggest iteration yet of the annual exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\t