Philippines-US war games kick off Monday

Members of the US Marines Echo Company of the 2nd Marine Division based in Fort Lejeune in North Carolina, USA, in an Amphibious Assault Exercise in Dingalan Bay, Aurora Province, in this file photo. Around 4,500 US troops and 2,300 Philippine counterparts willengage in joint US-Philippines military exercises starting Monday, April 16, 2012 in Palawan and three other sites. AFP PHOTO/ARLAN NAEG

MANILA, Philippines—The annual large-scale military exercises between the Philippines and the United States will kick off on Monday amid a standoff between the Philippines and China in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal west of Luzon.

Dubbed Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder), the 28th such bilateral exercises between the two allies, will see about 2,300 Filipino troops and 4,500 American troops in action from April 16 to 27.

This year’s Balikatan includes field training exercises in Palawan on counter-terrorism and maritime security; in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, and in Clark, Pampanga, for combat medical aid and jungle survival; and humanitarian assistance and disaster response command exercises in the military general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.

As in recent years, the two forces will conduct civic projects such as classroom-building and medical and dental missions for the communities hosting the exercises.

Colonel Arnulfo Burgos Jr., a spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the exercises would not impact on the ongoing shoal standoff. “The incident in Panatag will not affect the exercise,” Burgos said.

He said that while the exercises would formally start on Monday, the civil-military operations in Palawan began on March 12.

“Informally, it is already in progress and there are no signs that the Panatag standoff has affected the exercise,” Burgos said.

“The Balikatan exercises are in no way related to any event like that. This was planned long ago for our national security,” Balikatan spokesman for the Philippines, Major Emmanuel Garcia, said.

In a statement, the AFP said Balikatan was “designed to enhance both military forces’ interoperability not only in traditional military training but also in reaching out to communities in need of urgent assistance.”

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Jessie Dellosa and US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. will keynote Monday’s opening ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo.

Rear Admiral Victor Emmanuel Martir is the Philippine exercise director while his US counterpart is Lieutenant General Duane Thiessen.