By Adrian Portugal
BATANES, Philippines, May 2 (Reuters) - Philippine and U.S. forces on Saturday showcased the NMESIS anti-ship missile system in Batanes province, near Taiwan, during annual war games,
as tensions simmer over the self-governed island that China views as its own territory.
The Philippines' northernmost province, with about 20,000 residents, sits around 100 miles south of Taiwan, along the Luzon Strait, a strategic corridor on the frontline of the great power competition between the U.S. and China for dominance in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Training out here in Batanes allows us a different environment than what we're normally allowed to operate in," said U.S. Staff Sergeant Darren Gibbs.
"So it gives us unique opportunities to actually utilize the system and train within our capabilities, and it offers experiences we don't normally get offered in our day-to-day training."
Gibbs said the NMESIS is designed for remote operation, and that "the purpose of this system is for it to be fully autonomous, for us not to require a driver or passenger inside the vehicle itself."
"We will tell it where to go and then we program what it needs to do," he said.
The NMESIS, a highly mobile coastal anti-ship missile system designed to target surface vessels from land-based positions at ranges of about 185 km (115 miles), was flown into Batanes on a U.S. C-130 transport aircraft, and positioned in the capital Basco, which has one of the island province's two small runways.
Francisco Lorenzo, Philippine exercise director, told Reuters that deployment of U.S. weapons such as the NMESIS to Batanes was part of efforts to test operational feasibility in remote locations. The NMESIS was also deployed to Batanes in last year's war games.
"It is part of training so as to test the feasibility or rehearse their deployment there when need arises," Lorenzo said. One of the objectives of the Balikatan, as the annual "shoulder-to-shoulder" drills of U.S. and Philippine forces are called, is to practice "defence of our territory with our allies", he said.
The NMESIS would not be used in live exercise operations and was brought to Batanes only for deployment rehearsal and simulation support during the war games.
He said the system would be withdrawn from Batanes once the drills were finished. The U.S. also deployed its Typhon missile system to the Philippines in 2024 for use in joint exercises.
Beijing routinely criticises the deployment of U.S. weapons in the Philippines, saying it heightens regional tension.
Security analyst Chester Cabalza, founder and president of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, told Reuters "the NMESIS can spark a powder keg for Beijing and asymmetric deterrence for Manila and Taipei in the Bashi Channel along the Luzon Strait."
The system can be airlifted and deployed to any coastline in the Philippine archipelago within hours, Cabalza said, and its placement in Batanes is likely viewed by Beijing as part of the "U.S.-led encirclement" of China.
WAR GAMES INVOLVE 17,000 TROOPS
Philippine and U.S. forces also carried out maritime strike drills in Itbayat, a Batanes municipality about 155 km from Taiwan and the northernmost part of the country.
More than 17,000 troops are taking part in this year's war games, including about 10,000 from the U.S., even as Washington remains heavily engaged in the Middle East.
China recently intensified its activities in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, increasing its naval presence around Taiwan and sending an aircraft carrier through the strait. It also put up a barrier this month at the mouth of the Scarborough Shoal, according to satellite images reviewed by Reuters.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has said Filipinos working and living in Taiwan would have to be evacuated in the event of war over the self-governed island and that would "drag the Philippines kicking and screaming into the conflict."
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said in an April 28 interview with Reuters that Manila has a contingency plan to evacuate Filipinos in Taiwan if conflict erupts but gave no further details.
(Reporting by Adrian Portugal; Additional reporting by Nestor Corrales; Editing by Tom Hogue)
