Bulldozers, not guns, arrive for Balikatan

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Not guns and firepower, but earth-moving equipment have arrived in Sulu as the Philippines and the United States started the annual Balikatan in the province, officials said yesterday.

US Army Maj. John Redfield, Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) spokesman, said that as planned, the joint exercises will be heavy with humanitarian missions.

"It has been in the planning stage for a very long time and we are now on the execution phase," he said. "We are definitely conducting the exercise."

Redfield said there will be no field training in the exercise in Sulu.

"The Balikatan will be heavy on humanitarian projects," he said.

Redfield did not say if field training would proceed in Sulu because of a previous incident where a woman was hit by what was believed to be an M203 grenade.

The arrival of the heavy equipment for road projects, school and clinic renovation signals the start of Balikatan, he added.

US forces are employing a "soft approach" in helping the Armed Forces defeat the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) by isolating the terrorists from the civilians in Sulu.

Ranking US State Department officials who recently visited Sulu

commended the efforts, citing that the "soft approach" can be a good model in fighting terrorism worldwide.

Previous Balikatan training exercises were heavy on field training where US forces trained Filipino troops in marksmanship and tactical movement.

A simple ceremony will be held with officials from the AFP, US, and Sulu led by Gov. Benjamin Loong in attendance.

American government officials earlier announced the indefinite postponement of the Balikatan following the controversial custody tussle over US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, who was convicted last December of raping a Filipina. After Smith was transferred to US custody, the Americans announced the resumption of the war exercises.