Philippines, Australia armies to hold ‘dusk to dawn’ joint drills

MANILA, Philippines – The armies of the Philippines and Australia will hold two joint military exercises this year to strengthen their defense ties.

The drills to be conducted are Dusk Caracha this month in Australia and Dawn Caracha to be hosted by the Philippines in October.

“To enhance the existing defense relations between Australia and Philippines, both armies continue to engage in bilateral activities under the auspices of the Philippines-Australia Joint Defense Cooperation Program,” said Col. Jose Faustino Jr., the Army’s assistant chief of staff for training and education.

Exercise Dusk Caracha 2015 will be held from Sept. 15 to 26 in Perth, Western Australia and will involve the Special Operation Commands of the two countries.

Army spokesman Col. Benjamin Hao said 25 Filipino soldiers from the Light Reaction Regiment would be sent to Australia to join the activity.

He said the drills seek to improve the counterterrorism skills of the elite Army unit.

“Exercise Dusk Caracha will also include closed-quarter battle training, sniper skills development training, and unit collective training,” Hao said.

Exercise Dawn Caracha, meanwhile, will be held from Oct. 19 to 30 in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

The annual exercise between Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment and the Philippines’ Special Operations Command seeks to strengthen the two forces’ interoperability.

Hao said 102 Filipino soldiers and 15 Australian troopers would participate in the training.

The Philippines and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation in 1995. The two countries also inked a visiting forces agreement in 2007, making Australia the second country after the United States to forge such deal with the Philippines.