Philippines joins French-led Croix du Sud exercise on disaster and crisis response
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines joined 18 other countries in the 12-day Croix du Sud (Southern Cross) joint and multinational exercise focused on natural disaster crisis management in New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific.
This year’s exercises were the first since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Held from April 24 to May 6, the joint exercises hosted by the French Armed Forces saw the participation of over 3,000 military and civilian personnel — with the Philippines sending staff officers, according to the French Embassy in Manila.
“The two-week exercise was built around the scenario of emergency assistance after a natural disaster (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief) to strengthen the interoperability with military partners in the region,” the embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.
Croix du Sud is held every two years in New Caledonia, which is near Australia. Indo Pacific Defense Forum noted that some of the exercises include treating soldiers amid a simulated ambush on top of learning from each others’ HADR procedures.
The exercises focus more on humanitarian efforts when compared with the Exercise Balikatan, the annual US-Philippine war games, and the Exercise Kasangga with the Australian Defence Force.
During this year’s joint training exercises, troops and other personnel made use of 10 ships and 15 aircraft. Australia sent the biggest delegation with 250 participants — including an infantry company, a C-27J aircraft, and Royal Australian Navy auxiliary ship ADV Reliant. Australia uses the Reliant for search and rescue training, disaster response, and for transporting heavy equipment.
The US sent 240 personnel, a C-130 aircraft, and littoral combat ship USS Oakland. Troops from the United Kingdom, Fiji, New Zealand, and Tonga also participated in the exercises.
Meanwhile, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Singapore sent staff officers.
Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, and Malaysia joined as observers.
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