Balikatan 2016 a test of Philippines' new military assets

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ new military assets will be put to the test in this year’s Balikatan joint exercises with the United States, which will kick off on Monday.

 

Among the new assets that will participate in the joint drills are the landing craft provided to the Philippine Navy by Australia. The Philippines acquired five decommissioned ships from Australia for P726 million. The first two ships arrived last August while the three others were delivered last month.

 

Cpt. Celeste Frank Sayson, spokesman of the Philippine contingent to Balikatan, said the vessels will join a mobility exercise that seeks to enhance the security forces’ capability to respond to disasters.

 

“The mobility exercise will train our soldiers to move logistics on a massive scale. It will be the first time we will conduct such [an] exercise with our US counterparts,” Sayson told The STAR in a phone interview on Sunday.

 

He said the movement of supplies would be massive since it would involve more than a battalion, or 500 troopers. Such a deployment is now possible because of the Navy's new ships.

 

Sayson explained that during previous humanitarian operations, the troop deployments were piecemeal and involved only companies, or about 100 soldiers, due to limited equipment.

 

The logistics drills will be held in Panay, an island in the Western Visayas. At least two of the five ships acquired from Australia are expected to join the mobility exercise. At least one Navy frigate and alternative lift platforms will also be deployed for the activity.

 

Other assets that are expected to participate in the logistics exercise include M113 armored personnel carriers, the FA-50 lead-in fighter trainer jets and US logistics vessels.

 

The Philippines is vulnerable to natural hazards because it lies along the Pacific Typhoon Belt and is within the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. About 20 typhoons visit the country every year.

 

About 10,000 Filipino and American troops will join this year’s Balikatan drills, which formally open Sunday at the military’s main headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

 

The bilateral exercise, which aims to enhance the interoperability of Philippine and American forces, will be held until April 15. Officials previously said the exercises will focus on maritime law enforcement and disaster response operations.

 

Balikatan 2016 comes a month after the Philippines and the US forged an agreement on the bases that will host Washington’s military facilities under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

 

The drills will also be held amid China’s muscle-flexing in the South China Sea, a disputed region that is potentially rich in oil and gas.

 

Officials, however, claimed that the joint exercises have nothing to do with the maritime row.

 

Exercises will be held simultaneously in Crow Valley in Tarlac, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Clark Air Field in Pampanga, Subic Bay in Zambales and in Palawan.

 

Construction and medical activities were launched in Panay and Palawan a month before the formal opening of the drills. -- Alexis Romero