A Chinese Coast Guard ship with hull number 5402 sails in the waters of northern Natuna in the disputed area of ​​the South China Sea, Indonesia, Friday, October 25, 2024. (BAKAMLA/AP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military opened two weeks of combat exercises Monday that would include the capture of an island in the disputed South China Sea and would likely be frowned upon by China.

More than 3,000 members of the Philippine Army, Navy and Air Force will participate in the drills, which Philippine military officials said were not directed against any country.

China has rapidly expanded its military and become increasingly assertive in its territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety. Tensions have led to more frequent clashes, mainly with the Philippines and Vietnam, although long-standing territorial disputes also involve Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Last month, Indonesia said its patrol ships had repelled a Chinese coast guard vessel that disrupted a survey undertaken by a state-owned energy company in a part of the South China Sea disputed by the two countries.

“Our mission today is very clear: to prepare comprehensively to respond to any external threat that could challenge our sovereignty,” Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said during the ceremony. opening of the exercises.

The maneuvers will include live-fire exercises using artillery and assault rifles as well as beach landing exercises. In the South China Sea, Philippine forces would simulate taking control of an island, Philippine Army Col. Michael Logico told reporters, without elaborating.

Asked how China might respond, Logico said he expected Chinese forces to undertake remote surveillance, but added they would likely not take any hostile action.

“They are at the forefront of the exercise. They will watch and we don’t mind,” Logico said.

China has opposed such combat exercises in the South China Sea, particularly if U.S. and allied forces are involved.

The outgoing Biden administration has moved to strengthen an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan. The U.S. moves dovetail with the Philippines’ efforts to strengthen its territorial defense in a long-running conflict, primarily with China in the South China Sea.

Next year, U.S. and Philippine forces plan to hold their largest annual combat exercises called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder, which are also expected to include maneuvers in disputed areas of the South China Sea.