Future Balikatan drills to focus on territorial defense

From InterAksyon (Apr 17): Future Balikatan drills to focus on territorial defense

Future bilateral military exercises between the Philippines and the United States will soon shift to territorial defense to better equip the Armed Forces to respond to the dispute over territory in the West Philippine Sea.

Lieutenant General Terry Robling, US exercise director of Balikatan 2013, said they are preparing a "road map" for the drills that will help the Philippine military become a "national maneuver force that is designed for territorial defense."

Robling said this "will happen at some point" but not at next year's Balikatan.

He said equipping the Philippines with knowledge and skills in territorial defense will be a "strong defense tool."

"I think you have a sovereign government that has to deal with the issues in the region and of course there are many countries that have historical claims on different parts of the Asia Pacific region so those are always issues that will come up," Robling told reporters.

The 29th Balikatan exercises concluded Wednesday with countries reaffirming their alliance.

This year's exercises began April 5 with 8,000 American and Filipino soldiers participating in various activities including community health engagements, humanitarian civic assistance and combined staff exercises in Crow Valley, Subic Bay and Fort Magsaysay.

This year's bilateral exercises focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, including the first multilateral tabletop discussion on disaster preparedness that was attended by China.

The 2013 Balikatan also made history as the exercises were opened for the first time to cadets of the Reserve Officers Training Corps.

A squadron of F/A-18 Hornets also participated in this year's exercises as part of the 33 air and naval assets deployed by the US for the exercise. For the AFP, nine air assets participated in the exercise.

Aside from combat training and humanitarian assistance discussions, American and Filipino soldiers also engaged in community assistance projects, including the construction of roads and schools.

A total of 2,700 Filipinos received free medical services and 650 Filipinos received dental services.

Brian Goldbeck, charge d'affaires of the US Embassy in Manila, said the annual exercises represent the continuing alliance of the US and the Philippines.

"We will stand by you," he said during the closing ceremonies. "We have not left you and we will not leave you."

Planning for next year's Balikatan exercises is expected to start next week. Major General Virgilio Domingo, Philippines exercise director of Balikatan 2013, said next year's exercise will again focus on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59642/future-balikatan-drills-to-focus-on-territorial-defense