Joint PHL-US naval exercise begins in Palawan

From the Business Mirror (Jun 18): Joint PHL-US naval exercise begins in Palawan

FILIPINO and American troops began the eight-day naval exercise in waters near the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea, amid heightening tension with China following the Chinese military’s putting up of bouys within the country’s maritime waters.

The Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) has the Philippine Navy’s two biggest and newest vessels, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar and the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, working in tandem with the US Navy’s littoral combat ship, the USS Fort Worth, in the naval war games in Palawan.

The USS Forth Worth was the latest US littoral vessel of the US deployed in the Asia-Pacific region. It has an unrivaled maritime military capabilities, including in antisubmarine warfare, and it came as the US had warned China to stop from militarizing the South China Sea.

Lt. Liezel Vidallon, public-affairs officer of the Philippine fleet, said the Carat, which is an annual naval exercise between the US and the Philippines, has nothing to do with the maritime row between China and the country.

“It is being held in waters outside the disputed territory,” she said, although she admitted that the area was close to the territory which China is claiming against the country.

The exercise came as the government prepares to remove the bouys which China has put within the oil-rich Reed or Recto Bank, which is well within the country’s exclusive economic zone, and the reported sightings of a Chinese survey ship in the adjoining Amy Douglas Shoal.

Just last week, G-7 countries have asked China to stop its reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea, a call that was made earlier by US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Japan, the Asean and even defense officials who have attended the annual Shangri-La defense dialogue in Singapore.

Apparently feeling the pressure, China announced it will stop its development activity in some areas, a statement that was dismissed by the Department of National Defense, especially that it was followed by the discovery of markings in the Recto Bank.

Vidallon said that among the exercises that American and Filipino sailors would undertake are helicopter crash and salvage, gunnery, deck-landing qualification, board and seizure, and on weapon systems, including firing a missile.

“The exercise aims to conduct combined naval operations in order to enhance interoperability between the Philippine Navy and US naval forces. Furthermore, it will strengthen both navies’ combined capabilities in amphibious operations, special operations, surface warfare and modern naval warfare,” she said.

It would also enhance information sharing.

Aside from the Carat, Japanese forces and Navy personnel are also poised to conduct a separate naval exercise next week, also in Palawan, in a growing security cooperation between Japan and the Philippines. The exercise will include a Japanese maritime-surveillance plane.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/joint-phl-us-naval-exercise-begins-in-palawan/