SOME 17,600 American and Filipino troops are taking part in the Balikatan exercise set next month, the largest number of participants since the annual war game began in the 1990s.
US and Philippine troops will conduct live fire exercises at sea for the first time in the history of Balikatan, said Col. Michael Logico, spokesman for the Balikatan exercise.
This year’s Balikatan, set from April 11 to April 28, will be the first during the administration of President Marcos Jr.
Logico said this year’s Balikatan will be held in Zambales, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Casiguran town in Aurora, Palawan and Antique.
Last month, US and Philippine defense officials announced four additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites where the Americans can preposition assets to address varied threats. The four are on top of the five EDCA sites approved during the Aquino administration.
The defense departments of the two countries are also discussing the possibility of holding joint military patrols in the South China Sea where the Chinese have been aggressive in pushing their territorial claims.
“There will be 17,600 participants on our side and on the side of the US. This is officially the largest Balikatan exercise,” said Logico.
Logico said around 12,000 US military personnel will take part in the exercise while the rest of the participating troops will come from the Philippine military.
He also disclosed that 111 troops from the Australian Defense Force will also participate in the exercise, particularly in small land-based special operations training.
The Americans, Logico said, will bring their Patriot missile system and high mobility artillery rocket system or HIMARs.
He said the US armed forces will also bring ships and aircraft but could not immediately give specifics.
Logico said the Philippine military will bring two frigates from the Navy, FA-50 jets from the Air Force, and newly-acquired artillery assets from the Army.
The largest number of US and Philippine troops who took part in a Balikatan exercise stood at 11,500 in 2015 – 6,500 on the US side and 5,000 on the Philippine side. — With Reuters
Neuro6ix on March 15th, 2023 at 02:31 UTC »
Looking at some old naval war map of WW2 around Philippines, it's a ground zero for tons of sinking ship for both the Japanese and the west. One of the biggest naval war zone in history.