Is America providing decisive support to help the Philippines hold Second Thomas Shoal in the face of increasing Chinese pressure to drive the Philippines out?
The Pentagon has revealed the existence of a forward-deployed task force in the Philippines focused on supporting Manila’s maritime operations in the South China Sea.
Task Force-Ayungin, composed of American service members and named after the Philippine designation for Second Thomas Shoal, was seen for the first time on Wednesday during Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s visit to U.S. and Philippine troops in Palawan.
Huh. You may recall the precarious Philippine outpost there that has become Fort Apache under siege by a Chinese subliminal offensive that is becoming too overt to ignore unless the plan is to lose the territory.
Is the task force focused on implementing a Berlin Airlift: East to sustain the ship's garrison? I ask because the USNI photo shows a Philippine Air Force helicopter over the grounded Sierra Madre outpost, presumably resupplying the garrison.
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NOTE: Picture from the USNI article.
