The Philippines-US Balikatan Exercises 2013 (BK13) open on Friday, April 5. Over 8,000 Filipino and American soldiers are expected to participate.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col Arnulfo Burgos said this is the 4th year that the Balikatan exercises will be focusing on humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HA/DR). It had the same focus in 2008, 2010, and 2012.
"Balikatan" is Fiilipino word for shoulder-to-shoulder. The bilateral exercises will last until April 17.
The exercises will be held against the backdrop of rising tensions in Asia, in particular the Korean Peninsula. The US armed forces and the South Korean military have also been conducting joint exercises in South Korea amid threats of war hurled by Pyongyang.
The AFP and the US military deployed a total of 30 military aircraft and 3 vessels to Central Luzon where the military exercises will be held.
Burgos said 14 of the 20 aircraft coming from the US military arrived at Clark Air Base in Pampanga on Monday, April 1. The rest are expected to arrive Wednesday.
One US Navy ship will also participate in the Balikatan Exercise -- the USS Tortuga, which arrived Tuesday in Manila.
The AFP will deploy 9 aircraft from the Philippine Air Force. The Philippine Navy will deploy one of its Highlanders and two other vessels.
The annual exercises are covered by the 1951 PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty. They are conducted to serve as a venue for joint and combined training between the Philippine and US militaries.
Other security officials from the region were also invited to the military exercises. They come from Australia, Brunei, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Thailand.
Thailand will join high-ranking AFP and U.S. military officers in the Multinational Maritime Security Roundtable Discussion in Camp Aguinaldo.
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