Video by INQUIRER.net’s Ryan Leagogo
FORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines – For Lieutenant Colonel Dave Zinn, commander of the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment of the US Army, “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) is more than the military exercises staged annually between US and Philippine forces.
Zinn said as far as the 4th Cavalry was concerned, there was a “strong partnership and friendship” that dated back to “70 years ago when his regiment fought shoulder to shoulder with Filipinos in liberating Luzon from the Japanese”.
“It is an honor and privilege to be here as the 4th Cavalry,” Zinn said here Saturday, the second day of the military exercises.
THE VIEW FROM CHINA. US Marines storm a beach along the West Philippine Sea on Friday but only to simulate an amphibious landing during joint US-Philippines military exercises dubbed Balikatan 2014 at San Antonio, Zambales. This year’s war games focus on maritime security. The exercise came even as tensions simmer between the Philippines and China over rival claims to territory in the West Philippine Sea, part of the South China Sea within Manila’s 370-km exclusive economic zone. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
He recalled a story wherein his predecessors worked 30 miles behind Japanese lines plucking out Filipino and American troops during World War II and working together with locals to hide the rescued soldiers from the Japanese.
“Americans always remember,” he said.
Zinn said with three decades of friendship between the two countries, the Balikatan has become a “cornerstone” of the alliance.
Zinn said he told his soldiers to teach their local counterparts what they knew and to learn from them whom he describes as “a force hardened by combat”.
Colonel Rodolfo Lavadia and Lieutenant Colonel Dave Zinn RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
“I told my soldiers to focus on our Philippine Army partners and teach them how we operate,” Zinn said Saturday at Fort Magsaysay. “They are a force hardened by combat and they should also learn from them.”
Colonel Rodolfo Lavadia, Combined Army Forces Commander of the Philippine Army, said that the Balikatan was meant to focus more on the field exercises of the troops involved.
Zinn added that, even though the main focus of Balikatan 2014 was on maritime security, the exercises have a broad spectrum that involves all branches of the military, Army, Navy, and Air Force.
“Strengthening of the Army involves all,” Zinn said.
He also downplayed the issues of the dispute with China and the parameters of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca).
“This is not related to anything happening right now, not related to what will happen in the South China Sea [West Philippine Sea],” said Lavadia.
Room for fun
Zinn added that even if the Balikatan was a series of military exercises, there’s always a room to put in some fun.
“This morning we had a fun run, it was great the troops were happy and we had fun,” the commander of the American troops said.
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