RP, US Marines to hold ‘Phiblex’

US and Philippine Marines will hold another joint military exercise code-named "Phiblex" in Central Luzon and Cavite in October.

Marines spokesman Maj. Ariel Caculitan said the joint exercise will involve some 8,000 Filipino Marines and about a thousand more Army troops with "not less than 2,000" troops from the US Marines.

"On our side it’s like more or less 1,000 troops, (on the part of the) Marines, more or less 800. With the US... it will not be less than 2,000," he said.

Caculitan said the two-week exercise would be held at the Marine base in Ternate, Cavite with simultaneous exercises at Fort Magsaysay in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija and Crow Valley in Capas, Tarlac, the same venues where the first Phiblex, which stands for Philippine Bilateral Exercise, was held.

Caculitan said Phiblex is designed to improve inter-operability, increase readiness and continue professional relationships between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its counterparts in the US forces.

Officials issued a statement confirming the joint military exercise but without giving specific numbers or identifying vessels that will participate.

The Philippine Navy said another joint military exercise, called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, will take place in various training sites in northern Philippines on Aug. 14-21.

They would "enhance interoperability between the two forces in combined naval operations, including skills directly applicable in combatting seaborne terrorist threats and transnational crimes at sea."

Since 2001, the Philippines has received the most dramatic increase in US foreign assistance in the East Asia-Pacific region, particularly foreign military financing.

The United States in May 2003 has designated the Philippines as a major Non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally.

Since 2002, the US and the Philippine government have annually conducted joint military exercises, such as Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) which focus on counter-terrorism efforts.

The Balikatan exercises enabled the US troops to provide non-combat assistance but has significantly reduced the strength of the Abu Sayyaf by training Filipino troops how to fight them. — AFP