The United States and the Philippine militaries held tune-up exercises for the upcoming regular exercises by early next year, a gesture which officials said reinforces the two countries’ decades-old partnership.
The military exercises dubbed as “Salaknib” which lasted for 12 days were held in three military sites in Camp O’Donnel in Capas, Tarlac; Fort Magsaysay in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija and Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.
In a statement, the US Embassy in Manila said the exercises which was held on Nov. 16 to 27, covered “subject matter exchanges,” practical exercises and sharing of information preparatory to future military exercises for the allied forces.
The US Embassy said American and Filipino soldiers also shared information such as gunnery procedures and maintenance for the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier, artillery tactics and processes, as well as the study and validation of the Philippine Army Sustainment Functional Concept Document, which establishes a common framework and guidelines for future Army operations.
“Together, the allied forces participated in subject matter expert exchanges and practical exercises to share information, and further reinforce our illustrious, decades-long military partnership,” the Embassy said.
“These exchanges of information and practical exercises serve as a foundation for future training, including Salaknib Part B in April 2018 and culminating with Balikatan in May 2018,” it added.
During the exercises, Philippine soldiers fired artillery and M113 Gunnery to demonstrate their newly-acquired skills.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Rey Tingson said Salaknib is an Ilocano word meaning “Protector.”
“This is just a small scale exercise. It deals on the interoperability of both Armies, a small-scale Balikatan,” said Tiongson.
The “Balikatan” exercises next year is expected to be participated by thousands of troops from both the US and the Philippine military, which is aimed to promote cohesive partnership after its alliance was tainted following critical comments from then US President Barack Obama on Duterte’s war on drugs.
Aside from the US, the exercises will be observed by other allied forces from Australia and Japan.
