Manalo: Beyond war games, Balikatan to hone disaster response cooperation
MANILA, Philippines — While military exercises aim to enhance interoperability between troops of different countries, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo emphasized the Balikatan exercises between the Philippines and the US also aim to ease cooperation during times of natural disasters.
The annual war games officially begin on April 11 and will run until April 28.
"It’s pretty important that we learn to work with each other not only on the terms of purely military exercises, because there have also been many occasions the military — and I was involved — in other types of operations, [conducted] humanitarian assistance, responding to disasters and military forces take a very active part in that," Manalo said in a forum hosted by Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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Balikatan participants will conduct multiple humanitarian civic assistance projects, such as renovating three community health centers and multipurpose halls. Troops will also train "lifesaving techniques" as well as on how to assist and lead emergency rescue response.
The pared-down Balikatan exercises in 2017 simulated joint disaster response after an earthquake and focused on amphibian landings and airlifts.
‘Biggest’ Balikatan exercises
This year’s Balikatan iteration will have the biggest troop complement — with over 12,000 US troops, 5,400 Filipino soldiers, and 111 Australian military personnel — training together through simulated war games and other challenges across the Philippine archipelago.
Manalo noted that this year's activities will also focus on "interoperability in the context of external defense." Some of the exercises include maritime security procedures, coordinated fire and "maneuver in a shared and contested battlespace," according to the US Embassy in Manila.
Balikatan will test the soldiers' capabilities in live-fire exercises, information and intelligence sharing, and communication through amphibious operations, among others.
Manalo and Defense Officer-in-Charge Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. are currently in the US to meet with their counterparts to discuss global issues and other initiatives for the US-Philippines alliance. The Department of Foreign Affairs previously said the Philippine delegation will be there until April 12.
China’s response
Balikatan 2023 kickstarts just as China ended its three-day war games around Taiwan, which was a response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Command said the operations “comprehensively tested the integrated joint combat ability of multiple military branches udner actual combat conditions.” Tensions in the region continue, especially amid the US-China rivalry.
In a press conference on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated Beijing’s views that countries working together “should not target any third party and should be conducive to regional peace and stability.”
“The US-Philippine military cooperation must not interfere in the South China Sea disputes, still less harm China’s territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests and security interests,” Wang said.
China has continuously encroached the Philippines maritime sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea, resulting in hundreds of diplomatic protests to Beijing. China has also harassed Philippine vessels and fisherfolk in the waters, with the Philippine Coast Guard recently making more of these incidents known to the public. — with reports from Agence France-Presse
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