Manila should stop playing with fire

The United States and the Philippines started their largest annual combat readiness exercise on Monday. This blatant show of force will heighten tensions in the South China Sea and thwart regional efforts to resolve the maritime disputes through peaceful means.

The "Balikatan", or shoulder-to-shoulder, war games involve some 11,500 military personnel along with more than 90 aircraft and ships from the two countries. With the venue of some of the war games being in the waters near the disputed areas of the South China Sea, how can one believe that the exercise is not directed at China.

To justify their saber-rattling near the disputed waters and mislead public opinion, high-ranking Philippine officials have been questioning China's reclamation projects in some reefs in the waters.