There was a rumbling in the ground, and homes shook in the sleepy coastal village in northern Philippines where American and Filipino troops were pounding floating targets with artillery in a military exercise repelling a mock naval invasion.
Fisherman Macreno Racadio, 40, heard the explosions on the morning of May 6 as he sat at Gabu Norte village's quiet seaport, his wooden boat among the scores tied up along the shore.
Fisherfolk had been banned from setting out for a week until May 10 from Laoag City, in Ilocos Norte province, while the armed forces of the Philippines and United States conducted two key exercises at the nearby La Paz Sand Dunes.
The annual month-long "Balikatan" or "shoulder-to-shoulder" war games, which kicked off in April and involved some 16,000 Filipino and American soldiers, were held as tensions between Manila and Beijing threatened to boil over in the South China Sea. The allies have been holding the exercises in strategic Philippine locations since 1991.
The 2024 drills were conducted in various areas in the Philippines, along its western coast facing the disputed waterway and up north close to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing considers as its territory.
Laoag City not only faces the South China Sea but is also located just 408km from the southernmost tip of Taiwan. Ilocos Norte province is the closest on the Philippine mainland to China and is home to more than 609,000 people.
Mr Racadio said village officials had told them not to be afraid when they heard the blasts from the Balikatan exercises. But he could not help but cringe, he said.
"It's like they're preparing for war already," he told The Sunday Times.
"If that happens, we're sitting ducks here." He noted that his village was near the local airport, which could be a prime target if war breaks out.
この記事は The Straits Times の May 12, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Straits Times の May 12, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
MAVS COME UP BIG IN THE CLUTCH AGAIN
Dallas take 3-0 lead against Minnesota with another stellar fourth-quarter performance
SWITCH TO BOWLING PAYS OFF FOR LIM
Ex-footballer one of 96 in U-I8 category to get SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship
NOT SO HI CLASS SUITS BETTER
Easier Class 3 race, small field see honest Irish-bred 8YO return to winner’s enclosure
HK stock exchange hustles for more IPOs as capital returns
HKExX is also eyeing new business from regional companies via secondary listings
S’pore biotech start-up Mirxes refiles for IPO in HK, eyes growth in China
Firm had planned to go public in late 2023, but delayed listing due to market volatility
Beying puts 65b into biggest chip fund to drive domestic industry
Move underlines its renewed push to build own chip sector as tensions with US rise
Great Eastern minority holders seeking better offer from OCBC
Some shareholders point to 30% discount against insurance firm’s embedded value
In a first, President appoints four full-time aides-de-camp
Workload of full-time and honorary ADCs expected to stay heavy for the year ahead
LIA awards 530m contract for Turf City station
Construction work to start later in 2024 under second phase of Cross Island Line
NUS law faculty to return to Kent Ridge in 2025
It will move into Yale-NUS premises after spending 19 years at Bukit Timah campus