The US and Philippine militaries launched major exercises Monday aimed at fighting global terrorism, while staying mostly quiet on Beijing’s reported installation of missiles in the disputed South China Sea.
The annual maneuvers are the second to be held under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has set aside long-simmering friction over competing claims to the waters in order to court Chinese trade and investment.
The 12-day exercises began less than a week after US network CNBC reported that the Chinese military had over the past month installed anti-ship and air-to-air defences on islands also claimed by the Philippines.
“This exercise was scheduled whether those missiles were there or not,” US Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicholson told reporters in Manila.
“The exercises really have very little to do with recent developments in the area,” said Nicholson, the US director of the “Balikatan” (“shoulder-to-shoulder”) maneuvers.
The South China Sea issue has been brewing for years, with Vietnam, Malaysia and others also staking claims to waters with vital global shipping routes and what are believed to be significant oil and natural gas deposits.
Nicholson’s Filipino counterpart, Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Salamat, sidestepped the issue while highlighting the need to improve the capabilities of Filipino forces to fight terrorism.
Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino, had used the exercises to boost the Philippine military’s capability to deter China, which claims most of the South China Sea.
However, Duterte refocused the joint exercises after he was elected in 2016, steering them towards addressing domestic problems.
Last year, Balikatan focused mainly on honing humanitarian responses to the Philippines’ frequent natural disasters.
This year’s terror focus comes after Islamic State group supporters seized the southern Philippine city of Marawi in May last year, triggering a five-month battle with US-backed Filipino troops that killed some 1,200 people.
“This is focusing mostly on countering terrorism… that will allow us to respond to a similar scenario in the future,” Salamat said.
The US and Australia have pledged to provide more training and assistance to Filipino troops, who struggled in Marawi’s urban battleground after decades fighting low-intensity rural-based communist and Muslim insurgencies.
Most of the 5,000 Filipino troops and 3,000 US counterparts taking part in the manoeuvres are from special operations units who will train in mock urban terrain to respond to “crises and calamities, either natural or man-made”, Salamat said.
Australia and Japan are also sending a total of 42 military observers to Balikatan, he added.
Aside from Salamat and Nicholson, the opening was attended by top defense and military officials from both countries, as they underscored the need to address traditional and non-traditional security concerns that include global terrorism.
“Our nations expect us to be ready when they need us the most. Whether that threat is man-made or natural, We must be ready. That is the essence of Balikatan,” Nicholson.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, meanwhile, said this year’s biggest exercises ever hope to improve counter-terrorism capabilities by both nations by eradicating global terror networks and against common threats as well.
“As the current formulation of the United States’ national security strategy states, we must always be prepared to act alone and this our most advantageous course. But many of our security objectives are best achieved or can only be achieved through our alliances and other formal security structures,” Lorenzana said.
“This year, Balikatan will focus on interoperability training to address traditional and non-traditional security concerns,” he added.
US Ambassador Sung Kim, for his part, said there’s a need for the US and the Philippines to closely work together in order to surpass the complex challenges the world faced today.
Kim was referring to the incredibly difficult situation the Philippine military had encountered during the Marawi City crisis following the terror attack which lasted for five months leading to its eventual liberation following the defeat of the terrorist invaders.
“No nation can or should have to face them alone, whether natural disasters affects our neighboring country or man-made crisis causes communities to suffer, our country’s militaries will deliver more effective response when operating together,” Kim said.
“I’m confident that the lessons we take away from Balikatan 201 will better prepare us to respond together more effectively to future challenges,” Kim said without elaborating.
In a statement, defense officials said the Balikatan 2018 manifest the longstanding cooperation and interoperability between the Philippines and the United States, consistent with the Mutual DEfense Treat and Visiting Forces Agreement.
The AFP and U.S. Armed Forces will also continue the commitment to improve capabilities in responding to crises, and advance regional cooperation and collaborative actions in addressing security concerns.
“We want both our forces to learn from our great and hard-earned experience in our past battles like Marawi and I think this is one of the highlight of this year’s activity,” Salamat said.
Fighting in Marawi started on May 23, 2017 when Maute Group terrorists conducted massive attacks in the city.
It was only declared over after military units succeeded in neutralizing Abu Sayyaf leader and ISIS emir in Southeast Asia, Isnilon Hapilon, Maute co-founder, Omar Maute, and nearly 1,000 militants sometime in October.
The bulk of the urban warfare training, which include the tactics used in countering the terrorists, will be conducted in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. Salamat said training will be done together by Filipino and US Special Operations Forces.
“Hopefully we can effectively employ necessary tactics, procedures needed to more enhance our response, actions in countering terrorism,” he added.
In line with this training, the Filipino official said they have have set-up mock-up facilities to be able to design the training activities in scenarios that will highlight military operations in urban terrain.
The exercise started on May 7 and will end on the 18th.