Blair arrives to check on ‘Balikatan’ progress

US Pacific Forces commander Adm. Dennis Blair arrived in Manila yesterday to check on the progress of a joint US-Philippine military operation targeting Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines, airport officials said.

Blair arrived on board a private jet and was immediately whisked away to an undisclosed destination, officials said.

Military officials in the southern Philippines said Blair was scheduled to visit the Armed Forces’ Southern Command in Zamboanga City today as well as an Army brigade headquarters on nearby Basilan island, where US Special Forces are training Filipino soldiers engaged in sweeps against Abu Sayyaf Islamist rebels.

"We are prepared and security preparations are already in place for Blair’s visit in Basilan," Basilan Army chief Col. Alexander Aleo said.

US Special Forces commander Col. Donald Maxwell, who is supervising training in Basilan, is to give Blair a briefing on the six-month joint exercises, which started in January, Aleo said.

"Filipino troops will be deployed during his visit at the Army base in Isabela (Basilan’s captial town) and I see no serious security concern here because the Abu Sayyaf is now a spent force," Aleo added.

"Guerrillas are now on the run because of the military operation and sooner or later we will be able to get back all the hostages. It’s only a matter of time," he added.

He was referring to the American Christian missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap who have been in Abu Sayyaf captivity since last year.

A total of 660 US troops are participating in the war games in the southern Philippines, 160 of whom are Special Forces commandos now deployed in various Filipino military camps in Basilan, in military exercises called Balikatan 02-1, also dubbed by Americans "Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines."

Officially, US troops are only training and assisting Filipino troops against the Abu Sayyaf, a small band of Islamic fighters linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network. They are barred from joining combat opeations, but can fire back if they come under attack.

Blai’’s visit also came amid warnings by communist New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas they would attack US forces in joint exercises in the Philippines. The order was put out in the latest issue of the Communist Party of the Philippines publication Ang Bayan.

Hundreds of other US military personnel are set to arrive later this month for annual joint maneuvers with Filipino soldiers on the main island of Luzon, which is separate from the war exercises in the south.

Blair is expected to retire and will be replaced on May 2 by Adm. Thomas Fargo.

National Security Adviser Roilo Gomez in a recent statement said there is a possibility that Blair would present the proposal of sending the construction brigade or the US Seabees.

"If this is approved by Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, this proposal will send (US) military engineers to construct infrastructure in Basilan," Golez said in his statement. — Rudy Santos, Roel Pareno, Paolo Romero