F-35s Lands In Philippines As US, Allies Push Back Against China’s Aggression In Indo-Pacific | World News
The Philippines emerges rapidly as a key façade in the US-China competition in Indo-Pacific, because a line of defense containing Washington, Taywan, Japan and the Philippines continues to place in the archipelago, as reported by Eurasian Times.
Following the last port visit of Nuclear-energy US aircraft carrier USS George Washington to Manila, the US deployed the fifth generation secret fighter F-35 to the Philippines for the first time. Warrior jets came to Clark Air Base to join the joint US-Philippines Air Exercise “Cope Thunder 25-2”, which lasted from July 7 to 18 July.
More than 2,500 personnel, including 2.301 from the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and 225 of the US Pacific Air Force, are included in the exercises. PAF also used a series of aircraft, including the Fa-50 fighters, A-29B Super Tucanos and multiple helicopter models.
According to a statement from the Pacific Air Force, the exercise aims to increase the coexisiness between the air force of the two countries and to strengthen the binary defense bonds. US 421. Hunter Fleet Commander Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Mussler stressed that “a free and open Indo-Pacific” should not be accepted and that the exercises aim to deterd the potential aggression.
The distribution also pointed out that PAF was first flying alongside the US F-35s and symbolized an important splash in defense cooperation. In April this year, in the previous stage of Cope Thunder 25-1, PAF’s Fa-50s carried out joint drills with US F-16s.
On the first day of the existing exercises, the FA-50 and F-35 Jets strengthened the growing strategic role in the country’s regional security dynamics by performing coordinated sorties in the private economic region of the Philippines.
The deployment of the F-35s reflects the deepening security alliance within the scope of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), allowing US forces to operate from nine-specified Philippine military base. The agreement was expanded in 2023 despite a strong opposition from China.
Manila is considered a critical player in Taiwan’s defense due to its geographical proximity in the Luzon Strait and the Bashi channel, China’s strategic marine chokeports that China can use in case of invasion. Earlier this year, the Philippine military chief warned that the country would “inevitably” on Taiwan if the country had exploded.
The United States has constantly increased its military footprint in the Philippines. In 2023, the F-22 Raptors flew with PAF fighters. In April 2025, the United States deployed the advanced Nest Return System System and approved an agreement of 5.58 billion dollars to sell F-16s and precise ammunition to the Philippines. Last year, the Typhon missile system was also deployed during fishing and salaknib exercises.
In contrast, China expressed serious concerns and even performed an intercontinental ballistic missile test in the Pacific and stressed the discomfort of the increasing US in the region.
According to the Eurasian Times, the US-Filipines defense partnership, including the latest F-35 exercises, is expected to increase the tension with Beijing, including the latest F-35 exercises, including Washington.
