US and Ally Begin Major Military Exercise on 'China's Doorstep'

More than 16,000 troops will take part in the U.S.'s largest military exercise with the Philippines as tensions simmer between the U.S. ally and neighboring China. The 39th edition of Balikatan, or "shoulder to shoulder" in Tagalog, kicked off on Monday and will be held around Palawan and Batanes, two Philippine provinces near South China Sea hotspots and China-claimed Taiwan. Under the