Balikatan: PH-US forces conduct live fire exercise in Ilocos Norte

The sand dunes and coastline of Ilocos Norte shook with the sound of artillery and missile fire on Monday as part of Exercise Balikatan.

According to a report by GMA Regional TV One North Central Luzon on 24 Oras, the counter landing live fire exercise was held at the La Paz Sand Dunes near Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, around 600 kilometers from Taiwan, a potential flashpoint with China.

For this part of the joint exercise, the Philippine Army deployed its Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer System (ATMOS) while US Marines reinforced the defending units with Javelin missile and heavy machine gun teams.

For Monday's drills, Filipino and US forces adopted a defensive posture against a foreign invader coming from the South China Sea.

Serving as targets were drums floating on the water. The simulated amphibious vehicles possessed heat signatures that could be detected by Javelin missile teams.

The counter landing fire exercise area reached up to 12 nautical miles from the shore as the ATMOS fired 155mm rounds into the sea against simulated targets.

A Philippine Marine Corps artillery unit also supported a rifle company from the USMC Littoral Combat Team.

“They came up, had a few 50 caliber and Javelin shots. They were completely impressive and shocked the targets that were out there”, said Lieutenant General Michael Cederhold, commanding general of the Marine Expeditionary Force.

Philippine Army Major Gen. Marvin Licudine, Exercise Director for Philippines said the exercise “is already an assurance to improve the capability of both our armed forces so that we can better serve the people.”

Another live fire exercise is scheduled in the area where an old and decommissioned Philippine Navy ship will be sunk.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has issued a statement regarding the nature of the ongoing exercise.

“Military exercises should not target or harm the interest of any third party, undermine mutual trust among regional countries or undermine regional peace and stability,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian.

The US-Philippine forces countered that the Balikatan exercises in Ilocos Norte are meant to strengthen the ties and coordination between countries in the Indo-Pacific region and not meant to instigate any third party or state.

“We don’t do this for any third parties. We don't do this for messaging. We do this to create interoperability, to create readiness, to create integration and such capabilities, and being able to command and control, sense the battle space,” Cederhold said.

In Manila, the group Gabriela staged a protest action against the Balikatan exercises. The protesters were stopped by police along Roxas Boulevard when they attempted to hold a rally in front of the US Embassy.—RF, GMA Integrated News