RP, US forces storm Ternate beach in biggest war games in fiveyears

TERNATE, Cavite -- Philippine and US troops stormed a beach here yesterday in a mock war that capped the two countries' first large-scale military exercise in five years.

Watched by diplomats from various Asian countries, nearly 2,000 Filipino and American troops staged an amphibious landing on the beaches in Ternate town.

They detonated previously planted live bombs to simulate a pre-assault bombardment of supposed enemy defenses on the beach.

The simulated assault, which was conducted at the Philippine Marines base facing Corregidor island, began with a naval bombardment of the shore by Navy ships, followed by air raids by F-5 fighter jets, S-211 Augusta jets and OV-10 "Bronco" aircraft.

This was followed by the "covert insertion" of special forces teams by helicopters and finally, the landing of Filipino and American Marines aboard amphibious assault vehicles and landing craft.

"I think this will strengthen our military relationship, strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries and contribute to peace and security in the region," US Ambassador Thomas Hubbard told reporters.

"It is a wonderful thrill to see Filipino and American forces working together, execute a complicated exercise. There may be a difference in technology but there is no difference in solidarity," he said.

Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, for his part, said: "This is an indication that the alliance between the United States and the Philippines is alive."

He also said the exercises will benefit the Armed Forces as they are part of the "dividends" gained by the country from the RP-US alliance.

For his part, Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes saids the "Balikatan 2000," as the war games are called, "exceeded expectations" and showed that "inter-operability" was possible despite the technology gap.

Sen. Francisco Tatad, meanwhile, said the conduct of the war games "confirmed the vision of the Senate decision to concur in the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Tatad, chairman of the Senate committee on foreign affairs and one of the sponsors of the VFA, issued the statement after witnessing the amphibious landing exercises here, where US forces used the latest amphibian issue in their inventory.

"Henceforth, we expect to see the whole thing of this exercise on a routine basis without exciting too many people because the exercises have been without any incident," he said.

Leftist groups have been holding street protests in Manila and other provincial cities to denounce the exercise, saying it would risk Philippine involvement in US military conflicts overseas.

Church groups also said the return of American servicemen to the Philippines, a former US colony, would promote prostitution.

The exercise formally ends on Friday.

The United States suspended military exercises with its Asian ally in 1995, three years after it closed its last military bases in the country and ended nearly a century of US military presence in the Philippines.

Manila cleared the way for the resumption of the exercises when its Senate approved last May the VFA, which lays down legal procedures for dealing with crimes committed by American servicemen while on exercises in the country.

Despite the closure of American military bases in the Philippines, the two countries remain bound by a 1951 Mutual Defense Pact that calls on both parties to come to each other's aid in case of an external attack. -