Exercise Alon comes as Australia and the Philippines deepen their defence partnership in the face of repeated incidents involving China
Beijing claims the Spratly island group alongside almost all of the contested waterway – claims disputed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, among others.
Named after the Filipino word for “wave”, Alon encompasses live-fire drills, amphibious landings, air support operations and special forces manoeuvres. Among the Australian assets deployed are a guided-missile destroyer, F/A-18 fighter jets, Javelin anti-tank missiles and C-130 transport aircraft.
Observers from the US, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Indonesia are attending the drills, which are scheduled to conclude on August 29.
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