After Balikatan 2016, around 200 military airmen from the United States will be left in the Philippines, along with several aircrafts which will be used for air missions. By the end of the month, the US military personnel will be replaced.
The US aircrafts which will be left for Philippine deployment include five A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, three HH-60G Pave Hawk search and rescue helicopters, and one MC-130H Combat Talon II operations aircraft.
The said rotational deployment is under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
According to a statement made by US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, there will be regular and periodic presence of American forces in the Philippines. He also added that there may be changes in its nature, timing, and duration depending on what Filipinos deem is optimal. Carter made this statement during a joint press conference with National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
There will also be at least 75 US military personnel, mostly Marines, who will stay in the Philippines on a rotational basis.
US Secretary Carter also revealed that the US-PH joint maritime patrol in the West Philippine Sea already started last March. He also said that these patrols will continue to build interoperability, will help improve the Philippine Navy, and will help contribute to the safety and security of the region’s waters.
Furthermore, Carter added that more and more countries across the Asia-Pacific are already voicing out their concern both publicly and privately, at the highest levels, in regional meetings, and global fora, with regard to China’s land reclamation, especially the ongoing militarization in the South China Sea.
http://dwdd.com.ph/2015/rotational/
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