A U.S. military transport aircraft struck a concrete barrier while attempting to take off from a road in Laoac, Pangasinan province, during contingency training in the northern Philippines on February 24. Philippine officials said all five American personnel on board were injured, with three taken to hospital and two treated at the scene, while U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stated only two service members required medical care and one has since been discharged. The exercise involved operations from an “alternate landing zone” under the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, amid expanded joint drills focused on territorial defense and South China Sea security.
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