[International] US Special Operations Commander: Strengthening US-Philippine Combat Drills to Deter Asian Threats

The Associated Press reported that a US military official said on the 13th that US special operations forces are ready to strengthen combat readiness exercises with special forces from the Philippines and other Asian countries to further consolidate security alliances and help deter major conflicts in the region. Admiral Frank Bradley, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, arrived in the Philippines after concluding his visit to South Korea. He will then travel to Japan for talks with military officials. Given that the United States is busy with the war in Iran, Bradley is the latest high-ranking US military official to visit key Asian allies in recent weeks, aiming to reaffirm Washington's commitment to the region to these allies. Bradley commands approximately 80,000 personnel and is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The Special Operations Command is responsible for the US military's most sensitive and dangerous covert operations. Bradley said that most of his troops are deployed in more than 80 countries worldwide. He discussed with senior Philippine special forces officials the ongoing modernization of the Philippine military, strengthening combat exercises with the US military and other allies, and expanding the security alliance network to deter China's increasingly aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. China and other smaller claimant states, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan, have been locked in tense territorial standoffs in the disputed waters of the South China Sea for decades, but confrontations between the Chinese and Philippine militaries are particularly frequent. Washington has repeatedly warned that the United States is obligated to defend its oldest treaty ally in Asia if the Philippines is attacked. Bradley said that a united national alliance, where each country increases its defense spending and conducts regular joint readiness exercises to respond to contingencies, is the best deterrent to major conflicts. "The best way to deter conflict is to convincingly demonstrate to any adversary who might initiate conflict that they cannot win," Bradley told the Associated Press in Manila on the 13th. "Where we have a strong alliance structure... conflict does not happen," he said. "Together, we are stronger, and together, we can prevent conflict from finding us." Large-scale combat exercises between US and Philippine forces have attracted the participation of more allies and friendly countries in recent years, such as Japan, Australia, Canada, and France, with a focus on the Philippines' territorial defense in the South China Sea. US special forces commandos participated in these annual combat exercises and conducted smaller-scale operational exercises with Philippine special forces in the western Philippine provinces facing the South China Sea, and in the northernmost island province of Batanes. Batanes is close to Taiwan. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth first disclosed plans for joint US-Philippine special forces training in Batanes during his visit to Manila last year, stating that the Trump administration would work with allies to strengthen deterrence against global threats, including responding to China's provocative actions in the South China Sea. Batanes is located at the northernmost tip of the Philippine archipelago, facing Taiwan across the sea. China considers Taiwan one of its provinces and threatens to annex Taiwan by force if necessary. Bradley did not disclose details about the joint special forces training and exercises, including how many commandos participated or what types of exercises were conducted, but he said the exercises are ongoing and may be expanded. "In the future, how we expand will depend on the sovereign needs of the Philippines and where the Philippine government wants us to cooperate, but we are always committed to being a strong partner," Bradley said. (Editor: Chen Wen-wei)