THE Philippines has a very good jungle warfare school in Ternate, Cavite, said a ranking American military official involved in the antiterrorism phase of this year’s RP-US Exercise Balikatan.
The US Joint Task Force commander, Brig. Gen. John Jansen, said he has observed American and Filipino troops perform counter-terrorism drills in Fort Magsaysay, Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, and Ternate, Cavite, a few days ago.
“They train to a very high level that brings in the kind of capabilities that you need to be able to locate, identify, track, close with and do the things that need to be done relative to terrorists,” said Jansen, the deputy commander of the US’s III Marine Expeditionary Force.
Drills include clearing a town infested with terrorists and disarming improvised bombs and explosives left by lawless elements.
“You’ve got a very good jungle warfare training school down there. In fact, we think we have a very good jungle warfare training school in Okinawa, Japan. It’s very tough, they put you out there with a bottle of water and a Ka-Bar knife. They put you out there and pick you up in seven days kind of thing. Our Marines say yours is tougher here…down there in Ternate,” he added.
This year’s Balikatan exercises started on May 8 and will wind up on May 19.
US ready for disasters in PHL
AMERICAN forces can deploy units to help the country’s military forces within 24 hours in case a massive disaster hits the Philippines.
This was bared by the US exercise director of the command post-staff exercise phase of the war games, Maj. Andrew Merz, in an interview on Wednesday.
The latter was held at the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City, where the Armed Forces General Headquarters and the office of the Department of National Defense are colocated.
Participating were 75 US military personnel along with 40 CGSC students.
Serving as observers were members of the Australian and Japanese militaries.
“In an actual disaster, the US will send several different type of teams down almost immediately within 24 hours, so not only will the US send their teams, there will also be a joint humanitarian assistance team to start coordinating with the AFP for the initial response,” he added.
Merz added the US military will take a supporting role in this event and will provide support that is not readily available, like lift support.
In Wednesday’s Balikatan drills, he said US forces are focused on providing their Filipino counterparts with general tactics, techniques and procedures that can be used in a range of operations, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) and counterterrorism.
Scenarios played in the Staffex were HADR, which include responses to a Category 5 typhoon, which battered the Eastern Visayas, with a bit of counterterrorism involving a hijacking incident.
These stimulated events are designed to test the Philippine military’s crisis action planning team on how quickly they can resolve the terrorist scenario so they can move on with their HADR missions.
Militant group blasts war games
THE League of Filipino Students (LFS) on Wednesday condemned the holding of RP-US Exercise Balikatan, saying it is proof that the US continues to meddle in the country’s affairs under President Duterte’s “independent foreign policy”.
Balikatan has been disguised as “humanitarian aid and disaster response training” to make it look palatable to the people, LFS stressed.
“With Duterte’s interest in forging an alliance with China, the US quickly attempts to reestablish its hold on the Philippines. The challenge by a rising imperialist power compels the US to protect and ensure its dominance over the Philippines,” LFS National Spokesman JP Rosos said.
“Army officials from both US and the Philippines feed the public of Balikatan’s importance as a symbol for ‘strengthening’ US-RP relationship, but these excuses won’t mask their true hegemonic purpose.”
Rosos pointed out that tragedies, like Supertyphoon Yolanda, are being used by the Armed Forces to justify invasive military training.
“By securing its [foothold] on eastern seaboard, it becomes apparent that it is a vital move for the US to gain advantage over the imperialist tug-of-war for Benham Rise and the whole Philippine territory itself,” he said.
“Duterte has promised to pursue an independent foreign policy by cutting treaties with China similar to the Visiting Forces Agreement. This will not defend Philippine sovereignty, but will further violate it. Now that China, too, is directly asserting itself on the Philippines, it is time to fulfill that promise and assert territorial integrity,” Rosos said.
LFS also called on the youth and the Filipino people to stand firm against foreign intrusion.
“Whether it is the US or China that is imposing itself upon us, we must fight for our national interest with the same fervor. After all, it is only the Filipino people, through collective action, who could free themselves from foreign stranglehold, imperialist exploitation and abuse,” Rosos added. PNA and Marvyn N. Benaning