PCG to deploy ships for ‘Balikatan’ drills
THE Philippine Coast Guard will participate in the annual “Balikatan” exercises for the first time and will deploy six of its ship for the seagoing phase of the military drills slated for April 22 to May 10.
PCG Spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said four 44-meter multi-role response vessels and two larger patrols ships were ordered prepared for the event by Coast Guard chief Admiral Ronnie Gil Galvan.
He added that ships are tasked to regularly conduct maritime security operations in the country’s exclusive economic zones.
Balilo also said members of the PCG Special Operations Force are set to undertake joint interoperability exercises with the Philippine Navy and their counterparts from Australia, France, and the United States.
Earlier, “Balikatan” executive agent Col. Michael Logico said a possible highlight of this year’s exercise is a “multilateral maritime exercise” (MME) involving Filipino, American, and French ships.
Participating naval ships will come from the Philippine Navy and Coast Guards and from the US Navy and Coast Guard, and the French Navy.
Possible exercises for the MME include a combination of division tactics, search-and-rescue, visit, board and seizure exercises, landing deck operations and gunnery, to name a few. Logico also said military exercises like annual “Balikatan” drills with American troops aimed to demonstrate and make more efficient the combat readiness of participating personnel.
Some 11,000 US troops and their support personnel along with 5,000 Filipino soldiers will participate in the three-week exercise.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday said that the annual exercise between Filipino and American military personnel is not directed at any nation and it not meant to provoke anyone.
“The AFP emphasizes that the ‘Balikatan’ exercises are not directed towards any specific country. This long-standing initiative, spanning several years, is aimed at enhancing cooperation, fostering training opportunities, and strengthening regional stability,” AFP Spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said in a message to reporters.
She made this comment following Chinese claims that tensions rise in the area when countries outside the region are brought in to flex their muscles and stoke confrontation in the South China Sea.
This iteration of “Balikatan” which will run from April 22 to May 10 will also demonstrate the AFP’S shift to the so-called “Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Council” which aims to protect all of the country’s territories including its exclusive economic zone.