Phl, Indonesia eye Air Force cadet exchange program

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and Indonesia are eyeing an exchange program for Air Force cadets to provide exposure to their future pilots.

Philippine Air Force spokesman Col. Enrico Canaya said the program would strengthen the defense ties of the two Southeast Asian countries while enabling cadets to gain new insights.

“The program is still in the exploratory stage. In the long run, it will build relationship among future officers. It will also allow our cadets to learn best practices,” he said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

The exchange program will be implemented by the Philippine Air Force Officer Candidate School and the Indonesian Air Force Academy.

The Philippines and Indonesia already have similar military exchanges but they cover active officers, not cadets.

At present, there are eight Indonesian students with the rank of major who are studying at the Command and General Staff College in Camp Aguinaldo. One Indonesian Air Force captain is also undergoing a four-month Squadron Officer Course at the Air Force Officer School in Fernando Air Base, Lipa City.

Meanwhile, the chief of Indonesia’s Air Force visited the country for three days to meet with his Philippine counterpart Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Delgado.  

Air Chief Marshal Agus Supriatna arrived in the Philippines last August 10 and was given military honors at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City. He also visited the General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City for a courtesy call.

“The visit of Air Chief Marshal Supriatna is one way of continuing the mutual relationship and some form of consultation on matters pertaining to training exchange programs between the two Air Forces,” Canaya said.

Five Indonesian Air Force Academy cadets visited Fernando Air Base at Lipa City from August 2 to 7 to observe the conduct of trainings of Philippine cadets.

Filipino Air Force cadets will also be sent to observe the exercises at Indonesian Air Force Academy on September 8 to 11 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.