Manila: Joint military exercises between Philippine and American forces kicked off on Tuesday in central Philippines, as officials insisted the drills are not aimed at countering the threat posed by China.
According to officials, some 6,650 US soldiers and 5,023 Filipino servicemen are taking part in this year’s edition of the annual Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder in Filipino) 2015. They said this year’s event is twice as big as previous editions.
Lt Col Harold Cabunoc, from the Philippine military’s Public Affairs Office, said the two countries’ forces would be joined by 61 Australian troops.
“This year’s Balikatan is bigger because there are more activities that would be held in different parts of the country,” he said.
The two-week drills will formally start on April 20, but some preliminary activities have already taken place on Tuesday.
“The Balikatan will be held in the Philippines on 20-30 April 2015. This is conducted every year to serve as a venue for joint and combined training between the Philippines and United States militaries,” Cabunoc said.
He said the focus of the drills would be to train soldiers on mutual defence as well as joint humanitarian response.
He stated that the military exercises should not be interpreted by China as a “show of force” but rather as a normal activity by any country or group of countries desiring to safeguard their territories and ensure their capability to respond to emergencies such as when natural calamities occur.
Earlier, the Philippines had shown concern over China’s move to put up structures in sea territories the South China Sea (West Philippines Sea).
“This event (Balikatan) has nothing to do with that matter,” Cabunoc said, adding that the Philippine military maintains the stand by the government on the peaceful resolution on the territorial dispute.
Cabunoc said a total 16 activities had been scheduled to take place in different areas of the Philippines such as Jamindan in Capiz, Nueva Ecija, Ternate Cavite, San Antonio Zambales and Puerto Princesa in Palawan.
The Puerto Princesa event will be held in an area close to the disputed territory with China.
The activity in Jamindan will be held in an area in the Visayas Islands that suffered destruction from typhoon Haiyan in November 8, 2012.
According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the participants in the Jamindan juncture of the Balikatan aimed to provide government soldiers with Basic First Responders Training.
Capt Jennifer Brown, a medical doctor in the US Army, said among the objectives of the training is to promote and enhance the capabilities of both the Philippines and US Armed Forces in terms of humanitarian and civic assistance during disasters and calamities.
