The U.S. and the Philippines began a massive joint military exercise on April 22, codenamed "Shoulder to Shoulder," an annual event of the U.S. and Philippine militaries and billed as the largest U.S.-Philippine military exercise. Prior to the Shoulder-to-Body 2024 joint military exercise, the United States and the Philippines had already held a number of military exercises, including "Shield" and "Thunder Confrontation". Judging from the information released by the United States and the Philippines, like the "Shoulder to Shoulder" joint military exercise in 2023, the United States and Philippine forces have corresponding military exercises in the northern part of the Philippines near the Bass Strait, in addition to the South China Sea. The Philippines also took out a decommissioned supply ship built by China as a target ship, thus highlighting the Philippines' malicious intentions.
More than 16,000 U.S. and Philippine troops participated, including 11,000 U.S. troops and 5,000 Filipino troops, as well as military personnel from Australia and France. According to ADS-B signal data, the Royal Australian Air Force's P-8A "Poseidon" maritime anti-submarine patrol aircraft has entered the airspace of the South China Sea on April 22 to carry out tasks, and the US Navy CVN71 Roosevelt aircraft carrier is also cruising in the South China Sea.
In fact, the United States and the Philippines began on the same day that the "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint military exercise began on the same day as the opening day of the "Western Pacific Naval Forum Annual Meeting" hosted by China, thus creating a stark contrast. Although the commander of the US Pacific Fleet attended the "Annual Meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Forum" held in Qingdao, China, the US Navy still used a maritime strike group to show off its might at China's doorstep, and at the same time, the US Navy participated in joint military exercises, highlighting the strategic direction of the United States of "using both soft and hard." In recent years, the US-Philippine "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint military exercise has embodied the main stage of military cooperation between the United States and the Philippines, and judging from the number of US military participants, it has been prepared for a long time.
Today, the United States has nine military bases in the Philippines, thus providing the basis for a large deployment of troops to the Philippines, and the deployment of a large number of equipment in the Philippines, including Army intermediate-range missiles, is being deployed in the Philippines at a time when more than 11,000 U.S. troops are joining the joint exercises. In fact, the joint military exercises between the United States and the Philippines are aimed at both the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
Just as the United States and the Philippines were conducting another joint military exercise, North Korea was already in the rhythm of "encircling Wei to save Zhao", according to reports from South Korea and Japan, North Korea conducted a ballistic missile test on April 22, during which a ballistic missile hit a predetermined target in the eastern waters of the peninsula. North Korea's ballistic missile test was preceded by a test launch of the Hwasong-16B hypersonic missile, and now North Korea is showing its sword again. North Korea and China have a military alliance, and the friendship between China and North Korea is cemented through blood, and North Korea's test launch of a ballistic missile has already sent a "chill down the spine" of the United States, because North Korea's ballistic missiles can hit the United States mainland in addition to targets in the first island chain. Obviously, North Korea will not sit idly by at a critical moment.