PH, US start ‘biggest’ Balikatan exercise

The Philippines and United States (US) on Monday officially opened the 39th iteration of their annual  joint military exercise or Balikatan.

In an opening ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. declared the start of the 2024 edition of the exercise.

“I urge all partnerships to embrace professionalism, strive for excellence, and foster camaraderie as we seize the opportunities presented to us during this exercise,” Brawner said.

“As the Chief of Staff of the AFP, I officially declare the PH-US Balikatan Exercise 39-2024 open effective today.” he added.

This year’s Balikatan is the biggest iteration considering its scale and complexity, with more countries and agencies involved as well as more complicated activities.

For the first time, the French Navy will participate in the Balikatan with around 100 personnel, according to the AFP.

The AFP will send 5,000 personnel, mainly from Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) and Western Command (WESCOM), to join the Balikatan activities.

From the US, around 11,000 personnel will participate, including 3,700 US Marines, 1,200 soldiers, 4,000 US Navy personnel, 400 airmen and Air National Guardsmen, as well as 750 US Special Operations forces.

Also, the Australian Defense Force plans to deploy around 150 personnel.

More countries will be involved as observers.

In this year’s Balikatan, Philippine agencies like the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will participate in the exercise. The PCG is set to join the first Multilateral Maritime Exercise (MME) of Balikatan.

The Philippines, US,  and France will hold the MME from April 25 to May 4. Participating vessels will be originating from Palawan and will be sailing within the bounds of the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Among the activities during the MME are communications exercise, cross deck landing practice/qualifications, division tactics, and maritime search and rescue.

Meanwhile, PH exercise director Major General Marvin Licudine denied that the island taking exercise in Batanes has something to do with the issue of Taiwan with China.

“The island taking exercise will take place in the areas of northern Luzon particularly in the Batanes Group of Islands,” he said in a  press conference.

“Nothing really. It's part of the exercise as a means that both the special forces units from the US and the Philippines side work together in some degree of special operations,” he added.

The exercise will close on May 10.—AOL, GMA Integrated News