MANILA, April 20 (Reuters): Philippine and U.S. forces will carry out maritime strike drills on a remote Philippine island near Taiwan during annual exercises that started on Monday, which Manila's military chief said would test their readiness under "real‑world conditions".

The April 20 to May 8 exercises known as "Balikatan", or "shoulder-to-shoulder", will be the largest yet in terms of participating countries, with Australia ​included again and Canada, France, New Zealand and Japan joining as active participants for the first time, ​highlighting Manila's widening network of security partnerships.

The exercises will involve practising precision strike and ⁠interdiction operations in coastal waters of the Philippines and will feature integrated air and missile defence exercises, ​multinational maritime operations, and counter‑landing, live‑fire drills.

Launching the exercises, Philippine armed forces chief Romeo Brawner said their purpose was ​to reaffirm the strength of their alliance and their responsibility to secure the region.

"We train across the breadth of our archipelago ... testing our readiness in real-world conditions across all domains," Brawner said.

More than 17,000 troops are taking part, including about 10,000 from ​defence treaty ally the United States, even as Washington remains heavily engaged in the Middle East.

The exercises ​will showcase newly acquired Philippine hardware such as the BrahMos missiles and allied capabilities that include Japan's Type 88 anti‑ship missile, to be ⁠used during a live‑fire sinking drill.

The counter‑landing live‑fire drills will take place in Zambales province on the South China Sea, about 230 km (143 miles) from the hotly-contestly Scarborough Shoal, a strategic atoll controlled by China.

The Philippines and United States will, for the first time, hold maritime strike drills on the island of Itbayat , the northernmost point ​of the Philippines about 155 ​km from Taiwan, demonstrating ⁠the area's strategic location as tensions simmer over Taiwan, which China views as its own territory.

Taiwan's government rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide ​their future.

China has repeatedly criticised the Philippines for conducting defence exercises with its allies, ​saying they risk ⁠raising regional tensions.

Asked about the drills during a regular briefing, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the Asia-Pacific region needed peace and tranquillity, not external forces that create division and confrontation.

"We would like to remind the relevant ⁠countries that ​persisting in tying themselves together on security will only lead to ​setting themselves on fire and backfiring," Guo said.

U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. Christian Wortman said on Monday that Balikatan had "no target nation" in ​mind.