Above water Constant training is necessary to keep oneself current and ready for anything. Balikatan, an annual bilateral training exercise aimed at improving the ability of Philippine and US military forces to work together during planning, contingency, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, has proven to be quite essential in these times.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF US NAVY
A total of 14 countries will observe the 39th “Balikatan” annual war games of the Philippines and the United States.
Japan, South Korea, India, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Germany and New Zealand have been invited as observers of the exercise, “Balikatan” spokesperson Colonel Michael Logico said in a radio interview on Thursday.
Asked why China was not invited as an observer, Logico explained: “I believe China has some policy issues with the United States,” adding that the mentioned observer countries have been mutually agreed upon by the Philippines and the US.
Meanwhile, Logico said this year’s Balikatan Exercises will be directly participated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US Armed Forces along with the Australian Defence Forces and the French Navy.
“This year’s “Balikatan” will be a showcase of our capabilities in performing our mandate in the accordance with Comprehensive Archipelagic Concept as newly introduced by our Department of National Defense,” he said.
“That means we have to go beyond our 12 nautical miles in order for us to protect our national interest within our territorials and our exclusive economic zone,” he added.
Logico said the French Navy will be sending one frigate to join the US and Philippines in a trilateral sail exercise within the country’s western coast territory, beyond 12 nautical miles.
“Aside from the kinetic activities we are also focusing on non-kinetic activities,” he said.
According to Logico, the kinetic activities will revolve around the country’s physical domain — within the Philippine airspace and littoral spaces.
Cyber warfare
Logico said the Filipino soldiers will also engage with their US counterparts in non-physical drills, such as cyber warfare and other staff exercises.
“It is basically a decision-making exercise and cyber warfare exercise. So (to note) the equal importance between the physical domain and the non-physical domain,” he added.
This year’s Balikatan Exercises is an upgrade from the previous ones.
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