US deploys more fighter planes to PH for training stint, SCS access operations

From InterAksyon (Jun 16): US deploys more fighter planes to PH for training stint, SCS access operations



An EA-18G Growler attack aircraft is seen in file photo from the US Navy's Naval Air Systems Command site.

The United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) has deployed four airborne electronic attack aircraft to augment eight other air assets already stationed at Clark Air Base, according to a statement released Thursday by the US Embassy in Manila.

The US fighter planes have arrived in the Philippines for a training mission and operations to ensure access to the disputed South China Sea, the US Navy said Thursday.

The Philippines' longtime ally deployed the aircraft to train Filipino pilots as Manila remains locked in an increasingly tense maritime dispute with Beijing.

The US Navy made a veiled reference to so-called freedom of navigation operations in which Washington sends a ship or plane to pass by a Chinese-claimed island to reject its claims of sovereignty.

"Growler aircraft will support routine operations that enhance regional maritime domain awareness and assure access to the air and maritime domains in accordance with international law," the US Navy said in a statement, referring to the EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack planes.

Clark hosts the headquarters of the 1st Division of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) based in Pampanga.

The air assets already there, before this latest deployment, as five A-10C Thunderbolt aircraft, and three HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters.

“At the direction of the U.S. Pacific Commander, and with the approval of the Government of the Philippines, the United States stood up an Air Contingent in April 2016 to promote interoperability and US-Philippines security cooperation,” it said.

The announcement comes amid widespread expectation of a ruling soon by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague on the case filed by Manila, challenging Beijing's unilateral imposition of its “9-dash line” that claims 90 percent of the disputed sea and overlaps the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines and other claimants Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

The US Embassy said the new deployment is meant to enhance interoperability with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which has newly acquired lead-in jet fighters FA-50 “Golden Eagle” from South Korea.

“As part of this contingent, the US Navy sent a detachment of EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack aircraft to Clark Air Base on June 15, where it will train with Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) FA 50 aircraft pilots,” the Embassy said.

As part of the PAF’s program to modernize its aerial capability, the AFP has ordered 12 units of the lead-in jet fighters worth P18.9 billion from manufacturer Korean Aerospace, Inc. (KAI).

The deployed EA-18G Growlers contingent has 120 personnel assigned to the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, in addition to the 200 personnel deployed for the A-10C Thunderbolt aircraft and Hawk helicopters contingent.

“In addition to these bilateral training missions, Growler aircraft will support routine operational missions that enhance regional maritime domain awareness,” the Embassy explained.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines offered to host the US Air Contingent at Clark Air Base for the duration of their mission for the purposes of training the AFP’s FA 50 pilots and its support units for TDO, specifically on Maritime Security Operations. Clark Air Base is the home of the FA 50 and its pilots in training. Placing the U.S. Air Contingent at this base gives the AFP an opportunity to train with U.S. servicemen on Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR),” the embassy advisory added.

“The U.S. Air Contingent training with the AFP is part of the Mutual Defense Board Activities agreed upon by the Philippine and U.S. governments as part of Maritime Domain Awareness and the promotion of interoperability between both nations’ armed forces,” it further added.

The US deployments of aircraft and personnel in the country is part of the PH-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), widely seen as meant to blunt China’s aggressive military expansion that several countries say restrict the $5-trillion economic sea lanes.

China's reclamation spree has destroyed coral reefs inside the Kalayaan Island Group, a municipality of Palawan, by converting these features into artificial islands for military purposes.

http://interaksyon.com/article/129134/us-deploys-more-fighter-planes-to-ph-for-training-stint-scs-access-operations