MANILA, Philippines - This year’s Philippine-US Balikatan joint military exercises opened yesterday and US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is arriving to observe part of it.
Lt. Gen. John Toolan, US Marines Expeditionary commander in the Pacific and Balikatan director on the US side, said Carter would join officials from Japan, Australia, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries to watch the military drill that would include static display of US air materiel, amphibious landing, joint rapid reaction force and live fire exercises.
Briefing the media yesterday at Camp Aguinaldo, headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Toolan said Carter would observe “a couple of things he is very interested in” – apparently referring to the firing of High Mobility Rocket System (HIMARs), the first to be carried out in the country’s gunnery range in Crow Valley, Tarlac.
The exercises will end on April 15 after drills in various locations in Antique, Palawan, Tarlac, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija.
The joint military drills would be held after China delivered a strongly worded statement in the wake of increased presence of Americans in the region.
Defense Secretary Voltaire described this year’s Balikatan as a historic event, saying the training is a faithful adherence to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the US.
US Ambassador Philip Goldberg said his government was firmly committed to the MDT, signed in 1951.
To date, he said this alliance is strong and not mere rhetoric, as he cited the deployment of thousands of US troops to this year’s war games.
On the prevailing regional threats, Goldberg stressed that peace in Southeast Asia depends on cooperation between the Philippines and US.
This year’s combined drill consists of three simultaneous events through a single scenario distributed operation and would be participated in by 5,000 US and 3,500 Filipino troops.
Some 95 Australian soldiers would also participate in the exercises.
Australia believes the participation of a small contingent of in the annual military exercises would benefit its defense personnel and build relationships.
Meanwhile, Vietnam and Japan have sent officers as observers.
The exercises will be conducted in Crow Valley in Capas, Tarlac; Fort Magsaysay, in Nueva Ecija; Clark Air Field in Pampanga; Subic Bay in Olongapo City, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and Antique Bay in Panay and other AFP military installations in Luzon.
Women’s group on alert
Chapters of the women’s group GABRIELA in Angeles City and Olongapo City have alerted their members to monitor the activities of US troops that would participate in the Balikatan in Subic.
Obeth Montes, GABRIELA deputy secretary-general, said that Japanese warships have also made a port call in Subic.
Montes added their chapters in Panay have also been alerted on the ?April 11 Balikatan exercises in Antique.
She emphasized the need to “be pro-active” with the presence of foreign troops in these areas, as guaranteed by the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and further expanded by the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
Montes likewise said that while the government has been raising hell over Chinese intrusion in the Spratlys, it has been willingly inviting the US and Japan to intrude in different areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, further courting the ire of China.
Militant groups yesterday gathered near the US embassy in Manila to protest the Balikatan exercises, which they claimed promote a policy of war and uphold US military superiority.
Members of Bayan Muna, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), League of Filipino Students (LFS) and the International League of People’s Struggles (ILPS) marched along Roxas Boulevard toward the embassy before lunch time.
However, they were blocked by elements of the Manila Police District before reaching the main gate where a fire truck was deployed.
But protesters continued their program with the burning of the US flag depicting the skull and crossbones instead of stars and stripes, and later left without any commotion. With Rhodina Villanueva, Pia Lee-Brago, Ghio Ong, Jennifer Rendon