The military has tripled its deployment and presence in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) this year as it sustained its steady shift to external defense operations (ESO) from internal security operations (ISO) amid the continued decline of the communist-led insurgency.
The status of deployment in the KIG was shared by military public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Enrico Gil Ileto, who provided a briefer on the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) operational accomplishment culled from the command conference held last week presided by AFP Chief of Staff General Andres Centino.
Based on the military’s briefing of Centino, the sustained ISO campaign has resulted in the significant reduction of members and firearms of the New People’s Army (NPA) and the clearing of areas where the rebels used to operate and maintain their presence.
“It is noteworthy that from five active Communist Terrorist Group [CTG] guerilla fronts from year end 2022, two were dismantled [and] two were weakened, leaving only one active. In total, 20 are on a weakened status and one active,” Ileto said.
Ileto added the continued decline of the rebel group allowed the military to sustain its ESO and strengthen the country’s defense posture by increasing its aerial and surface maritime patrols through ships of the Philippine Navy and planes of the Philippine Air Force.
“The deployment of additional surface patrol ships increased the AFP’s presence in the KIG to about 90 percent of the time. This is a dramatic increase from the baseline of 30 percent in 2022,” he said.
“This allows the monitoring of Sea Lines of Communications [SLOCs] that is complemented by the AFP’s Littoral Monitoring Stations/Detachments [LMS/LMDs] to detect and monitor foreign ships and track, and subject them to interdiction operations,” he added.
The redeployment of Naval Special Operations units and the Marine Battalion Landing Team 9’s (MBLT-9) transfer to Palawan last month and the presence of the 4th Marine Brigade in Northern Luzon were part of the ESO, along with the continued use of air surveillance radar systems.
Ileto said the military has also improved its capabilities and presence in strategic locations, including in the Batanes group of islands, KIG and Tawi-Tawi.
“The AFP facilitated the completion of personnel barracks in Likas, Parola, and Kota Stations in the KIG,” he said.
Meanwhile, the increased presence of US aircraft in the country has been due to the ongoing series of exercises that the military were having with American troops, especially the Cope Thunder exercise.
The US planes that have landed in the country were covered with diplomatic clearances, according to Air Force spokesman Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo.
The Air Force is currently holding with its US counterpart the Cope Thunder, while the Philippine Marine Corps is also currently conducting another bilateral exercise with their US counterparts.
Units from the Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force also joined the Marine exercises.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/07/12/military-bares-dramatic-increase-in-patrol-ship-deployment-to-kig/
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