Massive U.S.-Philippine military drills are affecting small communities on the Philippines' north coast. Many here are growing uneasy as tensions rise between China and Taiwan.
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00:0051-year-old Philippine fisher Edison Palatow has spent the last two days shorebound,
00:08drying last week's catch of anchovies.
00:14He's unable to head back out to sea because just off this coast,
00:18the Philippine military is conducting live fire drills with U.S. forces.
00:22Despite missing out on much-needed income, Palatow supports the joint exercises.
00:30If that happens, especially if we don't have a fight,
00:37we want to support the military here in Cagayan.
00:43Along this remote coastline in the northern Philippines,
00:45hundreds of U.S. and Philippine troops are training side by side,
00:50using planes, tanks, artillery and infantry to practice holding off a potential invasion.
01:01It's all part of joint drills called balikitan, or shoulder-to-shoulder,
01:07held in spots across the country every year.
01:10The enemy that we are fighting against here is an amphibious force
01:15coming from surface ships deploying an amphibious force
01:20whose intent is to establish a foothold on the beaches
01:25with an intent to move inland once that mission has been accomplished.
01:30So a counter-landing is intended to stop them.
01:33And this location was chosen on purpose.
01:35Taiwan is just a few hundred kilometers north of here across the Luzon Strait.
01:42Beyond these waters, China has been conducting more and more military sorties encircling Taiwan,
01:48putting pressure on the self-ruled island nation that Beijing says is part of its sovereign territory.
01:53The Chinese drills have got the Philippines planning what it would do if war broke out.
01:59In any conflict scenario, it is essential that we establish sea control over Bashi Channel and Luzon Strait.
02:07And one way of enhancing sea control is to have positive presence in Cagayan province.
02:15To bolster its defenses, the Philippines is giving defense partner, the U.S., more access to strategic areas like this.
02:26But not everyone here in rural Cagayan, where many families have Chinese heritage or business ties,
02:32welcomes American boots on the ground.
02:34We should not go along with the U.S. what they want.
02:37We should decide on our own, not based on the U.S. policy or not based on their advice to us.
02:45And suspicion here is growing over a new infrastructure development project.
02:50There are fears it could make the town a target.
02:53They just told us that it supports expansion, a tourism project for the betterment of Apari.
03:01I don't know if it collides with what is happening right now with the military exercises.
03:09For many on this far-flung coast, life is not easy.
03:12They rely on fishing and farming to get by, livelihoods made harder by rising temperatures and more frequent typhoons.
03:20Now, as gunfire rings out near their homes, they know they must also face another growing threat.
03:27The fight for regional dominance moving closer to their doorstep.
03:30Fu Hua Hong, David Santos and Rick Lowert in Cagayan, the Philippines for Taiwan Plus.
03:36Fu Hua Hong, David Santos and Rick Lowert in Cagayan, the Philippines for Taiwan Plus.
03:40Fu Hua Hong, David Santos and Rick Lowert in Cagayan, the Philippines for Taiwan Plus.