Philippines, US armies brace for bigger joint defense drills

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine and United States armies are now preparing for even bigger Salaknib joint military exercises on defense readiness and interoperability next year.

Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad yesterday announced that Philippine Army and US Army Pacific (USARPAC) planners have started the weeklong planning conference for the 2023 iteration of the annual combined military exercise.

Trinidad explained that Salaknib is geared toward strengthening interoperability of both armies in a spectrum of military operations.

He also noted that the annual exercise also enhances the individual skills of troops and unit capabilities in a range of military operations in line with the command guidance of Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.

“Training has always been a vital tool for both the Philippine Army and the United States Army Pacific to enhance defense readiness and strengthen interoperability while simultaneously bolstering bilateral relationships,” Col. Emmanuel Cabasan, Philippine Army deputy assistant chief of staff for education and training, said in his welcome remarks during the opening of the planning sessions at the Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.

The Philippine Army and the USARPAC will conduct Salaknib 2023 in two phases in various sites in Central and Northern Luzon, according to Trinidad.

Around 2,200 Filipino and American servicemen trained side by side in last year’s iteration of joint training events, which focused on capability development of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, the Philippine Army’s primary combined arms and rapid deployment unit.

Meanwhile, Trinidad also announced that the Philippine Army and the Australian Defense Force has completed the month-long Exercise Carabaroo held in Darwin, Australia.

More than 150 troops from the Philippine Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, First Scout Ranger Regiment and Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) and their Australian counterparts trained alongside US Marine Corps at the Robertson Barracks and Mount Bundey Training Area in trilateral exercises that bolstered participating troops’ interoperability in a complex environment.

Trinidad said Exercise Carabaroo is part of the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade’s Exercise Predator’s Run, a multinational training activity that simulates littoral combined arms maneuvers in a large-scale force-on-force environment.

It was held in parallel with Exercise Southern Tiger participated in by Australian and Malaysian troops and Exchange Program Kartikaburra participated in by Australian and Indonesian troops. –  Robertzon Ramirez