From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 11): Aussies plans to join 'Balikatan'
exercises
Department of National Defense (DND) spokesperson Dr. Peter Paul Galvez on
Sunday said that Australia is looking at the possibility of joining the
Philippine-United States "Balikatan" exercise as an observer.
Galvez said that talks were now underway regarding the matter.
He also said that Australia's inclusion to the annual military exercise must
be first given the "green-light" by both the Philippines and the United States.
The Philippine and Australia, last Oct. 24 to 25, convened for the 11th time
their joint defense cooperation committee.
Their meeting in Manila three months after the Philippine Senate’s
ratification of the Philippine-Australia Status of Visiting Forces Agreement
(SOVFA), deepened their bilateral relations in a post-SOVFA ratification
setting, which served as the guiding premise in the discussions.
With the SOVFA, the land and maritime training activities "Dawn Caracha" and
"Lumbas" respectively held between Philippine and Australian armed forces could
now become full-blown field training exercises.
Each force could likewise join the exercises conducted by its partner with
other regional militaries.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=470414
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