Members of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment practice hand-to-hand combat during a Balikatan drill at the La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag, Philippines, May 8, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)
LA PAZ SAND DUNES, Philippines — The sound of artillery shook this adventure tourism mecca on the northwestern coast of Luzon, the country’s main island, Wednesday morning.
American, Philippine and Australian troops pounded a disused oil tanker 10 miles offshore with artillery, rockets, missiles, bombs and machinegun fire.
The demonstration showed what the longtime allies could do in the event of an invasion attempt, Philippine army Lt. Col. Omar Al Assaf said at the dunes.
The ship sinking was the culmination of the annual Balikatan exercise. The training began April 22 and is scheduled to end with a ceremony Friday.
Philippine troops manning 155 mm howitzers prepare for a Balikatan ship-sinking drill at the La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag, Philippines, May 8, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)
A member of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment tries sandboarding at the La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag, Philippines, May 8, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)
Reporters watched the action unfold on video screens inside a tent overlooking the coast.
An Australian E-7 Wedgetail flew over the target and relayed data to firing units.
A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship pounded the target vessel with a 105 mm cannon and 30 mm machinegun.
The barrage included fire from Philippine navy vessels, U.S. and Philippine fighter jets, a Philippine helicopter and 155 mm howitzers in the dunes.
Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who hails from the area where the training took place, observed the event from a command center at an undisclosed location, Philippine military spokesman army Lt. Col. Xerxes Trinidad said at the dunes.
The event showed air, sea and ground assets training to prevent an aggressor landing on Filipino soil, Assaf said after the target ship sank in 1,500 feet of water.
A live feed shows the target going down about 10 miles offshore during a Balikatan ship-sinking drill at the La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag, Philippines, May 8, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)
A live feed of a target ship about 10 miles offshore is displayed during a Balikatan drill at the La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag, Philippines, May 8, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)
The attacks appeared to find their mark, but a pair of the U.S. Army’s Excalibur 155 mm artillery shells turned out to be duds.
Soldiers detected problems in the electronic signals inside the rounds before they were fired, said Lt. Col. Matt Cahill, commander of 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment.
Tourist attractions at the dunes, including off-roading and sandboarding, were shut down during the live fire.
However, the mayor of Laoag, the town that surrounds the sand dunes, said operators welcomed the attention that the exercise gives the area.
Mayor Michael Marcos Keon speaks with reporters about Balikatan training taking place in his city, Laoag, Philippines, May 8, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)
“I feel that it is important that they do it here,” Michael Marcos Keon said as artillery barked nearby. “Please understand what the Chinese navy is doing — trespassing into our territory, harassing our fishermen, harassing our coast guard. It’s not acceptable.”
Last week, a China coast guard ship with water cannons damaged one of two Philippine coast guard vessels at Scarborough Shoal, a feature inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone that’s controlled by Beijing. An escalating number of similar encounters have occurred between the two countries at Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the South China Sea controlled by Manila.
Filipinos need to send a message to China that they will not be bullied, Keon said, noting that he is a relative of his country’s president.
“We need to do this with our allies, and who are our allies? The United States of America,” he said.
