MANILA: The Philippine and US air forces kicked off joint exercises Monday aimed at boosting operational coordination and enhancing “strategic deterrence,” Manila’s military said.
The drills follow months of confrontations between Beijing and Manila over disputed areas of the South China Sea, with significantly larger US-Philippine air, land and sea exercises set for late April.
“Enhancing combat readiness and elevating joint mission effectiveness” would be central to the Cope Thunder exercise, Philippine Air Force commander Arthur Cordura said Monday at a ceremony to launch the drills.
Military ties between the Philippines and United States have deepened since the 2022 election of President Ferdinand Marcos, with Manila pushing back on sweeping Chinese claims in the South China Sea that an international tribunal has ruled are without merit.
The US State Department last week approved a long-mooted sale of F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, though Manila said the deal was “still in the negotiation phase.”
Speaking at Monday’s ceremony, US Major General Christopher Sheppard said that “the pace of our alliance is accelerating.”
Cope Thunder, which will continue through April 18, aims to enhance “asymmetric warfare capabilities,” operational coordination and strategic deterrence, according to the Philippine Air Force.
“Further down the road, we look forward to the seamless transition to exercise Balikatan, which will continue to push the boundaries of our interoperability,” Cordura added.
Like the majority of Balikatan’s planned activities, Cope Thunder will be conducted on northern Luzon island, the area of the Philippines closest to Taiwan.
As China encircled Taiwan with planes and ships in a simulated blockade last week, Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner warned troops that their country would “inevitably” be involved should the self-ruled island be invaded.
Beijing insists Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to forcefully bring under its control.
While Manila later said Brawner’s comments were primarily referencing efforts to retrieve Filipino workers in Taiwan, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with Washington gives US forces access to nine bases in the country.
One is a naval facility at Cagayan’s Santa Ana about 400 kilometers from Taiwan.
During a recent visit to Manila, US Defense Chief Pete Hegseth said Washington was “doubling down” on its alliance with the archipelago nation.
“Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country – considering the threats from the Communist Chinese,” he said on March 28.
![]()
Philippines, US launch joint drills aimed at ‘deterrence’
Short Url
https://arab.news/pwnm7
Philippines, US launch joint drills aimed at ‘deterrence’
- The drills follow months of confrontations between Beijing and Manila over disputed areas of the South China Sea
- Military ties between the Philippines and US have deepened since the 2022 election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Louvre heist probe still aims to ‘recover jewelry’, top prosecutor says
- Police believe they have arrested all four thieves who carried out the brazen October 19 robbery
PARIS: French investigators remain determined to find the imperial jewels stolen from the Louvre in October, a prosecutor has said.
Police believe they have arrested all four thieves who carried out the brazen October 19 robbery, making off with jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the world-famous museum.
“The interrogations have not produced any new investigative elements,” top Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said this week, three months after the broad-daylight heist.
But the case remains a top priority, she underlined.
“Our main objective is still to recover the jewelry,” she said.
That Sunday morning in October, thieves parked a mover’s truck with an extendable ladder below the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery housing the French crown jewels.
Two of the thieves climbed up the ladder, broke a window and used angle grinders to cut glass display booths containing the treasures, while the other two waited below, investigators say.
The four then fled on high-powered motor scooters, dropping a diamond-and-emerald crown in their hurry.
But eight other items of jewelry — including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave his second wife, Empress Marie-Louise — remain at large.
Beccuau said investigators were keeping an open mind as to where the loot might be.
“We don’t have any signals indicating that the jewelry is likely to have crossed the border,” she said, though she added: “Anything is possible.”
Detectives benefitted from contacts with “intermediaries in the art world, including internationally” as they pursued their probe.
“They have ways of receiving warning signals about networks of receivers of stolen goods, including abroad,” Beccuau said.
As for anyone coming forward to hand over the jewels, that would be considered to be “active repentance, which could be taken into consideration” later during a trial, she said.
A fifth suspect, a 38-year-old woman who is the partner of one of the men, has been charged with being an accomplice but was released under judicial supervision pending a trial.
Investigators still had no idea if someone had ordered the theft.
“We refuse to have any preconceived notions about what might have led the individuals concerned to commit this theft,” the prosecutor said.
But she said detectives and investigating magistrates were resolute.
“We haven’t said our last word. It will take as long as it takes,” she said.
Police believe they have arrested all four thieves who carried out the brazen October 19 robbery, making off with jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the world-famous museum.
“The interrogations have not produced any new investigative elements,” top Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said this week, three months after the broad-daylight heist.
But the case remains a top priority, she underlined.
“Our main objective is still to recover the jewelry,” she said.
That Sunday morning in October, thieves parked a mover’s truck with an extendable ladder below the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery housing the French crown jewels.
Two of the thieves climbed up the ladder, broke a window and used angle grinders to cut glass display booths containing the treasures, while the other two waited below, investigators say.
The four then fled on high-powered motor scooters, dropping a diamond-and-emerald crown in their hurry.
But eight other items of jewelry — including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave his second wife, Empress Marie-Louise — remain at large.
Beccuau said investigators were keeping an open mind as to where the loot might be.
“We don’t have any signals indicating that the jewelry is likely to have crossed the border,” she said, though she added: “Anything is possible.”
Detectives benefitted from contacts with “intermediaries in the art world, including internationally” as they pursued their probe.
“They have ways of receiving warning signals about networks of receivers of stolen goods, including abroad,” Beccuau said.
As for anyone coming forward to hand over the jewels, that would be considered to be “active repentance, which could be taken into consideration” later during a trial, she said.
A fifth suspect, a 38-year-old woman who is the partner of one of the men, has been charged with being an accomplice but was released under judicial supervision pending a trial.
Investigators still had no idea if someone had ordered the theft.
“We refuse to have any preconceived notions about what might have led the individuals concerned to commit this theft,” the prosecutor said.
But she said detectives and investigating magistrates were resolute.
“We haven’t said our last word. It will take as long as it takes,” she said.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.