American and Filipino forces show firepower in drills amid China tensions

A US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System fires a missile during the joint military exercise in northern Philippines (Aaron Favila/AP)

American and Filipino forces hit a ship with a barrage of high-precision rockets, airstrikes and artillery fire in their largest war drills in Philippine waters facing the disputed South China Sea that is likely to antagonise China.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr watched the American show of firepower from an observation tower in the coastal town of San Antonio in northwestern Zambales province — the latest indication of his strong backing of the Philippines’ treaty alliance with the US.