Batan, Philippines. Mar 8, 2024: Mount Iraya & Batanes cliffs, natural defense in Batanes, country's northernmost islands, nearest being 142 km away from southernmost point of Taiwan. PH Navy boost troops presence in strategically located islands with 119 new reservists + 76 recruits in training, an unpleasant deployment for Beijing accusing Manila of playing with fire. In 2023, Pres Marcos authorized American access to 4 other Philippine military bases (EDCA), 3 of them face Taiwan. PH & US militaries will conduct 2024 Balikatan naval exercise in : Kevin Izorce/Alamy Live News

---

Size: 5705px × 3782px
Location: Batan island, Batanes islands province, Cagayan Valley region, Philippines, Southeast Asia
Photo credit: © KEVIN IZORCE / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: army, asia, basco, batan, batanes, china, claim, claims, cliff, cliffs, conflict, defense, dispute, environment, filipino, filipinos, freedom, independent, iraya, island, islands, izorce, kevin, landscape, landscapes, marine, marines, maritime, military, mount, moutain, nature, navy, philippine, philippines, photojournalist, pilipinas, pinoy, politics, reporter, reservists, scenic, sea, seascape, secretary, sovereign, sovereignty, taiwan, territorial, territory, tourism, volcano