The United States and the Philippines – along with allied nations like Japan, Australia, France, New Zealand, and Canada – launched a series of large-scale combat exercises on Monday.

The joint drills were conducted amid threats of retaliation from China, which has long been working on seizing disputed islands from the Philippines by force.

The exercises are known as Balikatan, a Tagalog word meaning “shoulder-to-shoulder.” They are scheduled to last for almost three weeks, and will involve some 17,000 American and Filipino personnel in mock battles and live-fire drills. This year marks the 41st and largest-ever Balikatan exercise.

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Some of those mock battles cover the disputed waters of the South China Sea and the island of Taiwan, which angered the Chinese government. Beijing wants to reserve the option of force to seize the entire South China Sea region, even though its expansive claims were long ago rejected by international tribunals, and the independent island of Taiwan.

The Philippine government insisted that its exercises do not target any specific adversary, but are intended as preparation for handling natural disasters and thwarting “aggression in the region.”

“Regardless of the challenges elsewhere in the world, the United States focus on the Indo-Pacific and our ironclad commitment to the Philippines remains unwavering,” U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. Christian Wortman, the commanding general of the American force, said at the opening ceremony for the exercises.

“This realistic and challenging training will not only enhance our interoperability and readiness, it will also forge unbreakable bonds of camaraderie and trust. These relationships reinforce that the U.S. — Philippine alliance is more than military cooperation — it is a partnership deeply rooted in shared values,” Wortman said.

“To our allies and partners, your presence here today sends a clear and unmistakable message that security is shared and that partnership remains our strongest advantage,” said Philippine Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Romeo S. Brawner, Jr.

The regime in Beijing was not mollified by these constructive statements.

“The world has seen enough damage done by unilateralism and abuse of military might. What the Asia-Pacific needs most is peace and tranquility, and the last thing the region needs is division and confrontation as a result of the introduction of external forces,” sniffed Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun at his press conference on Monday, in response to a question about the Balikatan exercises.

Guo did not mention the United States by name, but he almost certainly was not talking about China’s unilateral abuse of military might to force the Filipinos away from their islands in the South China Sea.

“No military and security cooperation should be conducted at the expense of mutual understanding and trust as well as peace and stability in the region. Such cooperation should not target any third party or harm the interests of any third party,” he continued.

“For countries that tie their own security to others, it is important to bear in mind that this may very well backfire,” he warned.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Communist Party house newspaper, the People’s Daily, issued an unsubtle threat to cut off energy assistance to the Philippines as punishment for holding joint military exercises with the United States.

The People’s Daily editorial railed against Manila for its alleged “hypocrisy” in asking China for emergency energy supplies, at the same time it conducts military drills near Taiwan.

“How can (the Philippines) justify acting with complete disregard for the interests of its neighbors and yet expect them to ⁠come to its aid in a critical moment?” the editorial asked, listing a number of grievances in addition to the Balikatan exercises.

Analysts told Reuters the editorial could be taken as a threat to use energy as leverage against the Philippines, in much the way China has tried to use critical minerals exports to influence Japan. The exact wording of the editorial did not suggest that China would take punitive action immediately.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) said on Tuesday that China might be irked by the “more active defense posture” the Philippines is taking, not just the sheer size of this year’s Balikatan exercise or the additional participating nations.

“For years, Manila operated within a relatively constrained framework, relying heavily on its alliance with the United States. What we are seeing now is a gradual effort to assert greater agency while remaining firmly anchored in that alliance,” Asia Center president and Paris Dauphine University assistant professor Arnaud Leveau told RFA.

Leveau thought Manila was making the right call by signaling it has the determination and ability to act independently against aggression.

“I see it as a rather calibrated adjustment to changing circumstances. In this context, signaling resolve should not be seen as escalation, but rather as a form of deterrence. Repeated incidents at sea have shown that ambiguity can invite further pressure,” he said.