The U.S. is more than doubling its troop presence for the annual Balikatan exercise with the Philippine military later this month.
Some 6,000 personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps — up from 2,500 last year — will train alongside 5,000 Philippine soldiers, according to Marine Capt. Agustin Solivan, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
The troop boost follows an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, signed by the two nations last year, that will see large numbers of U.S. military personnel rotate through bases in the Philippines over the next decade. America’s permanent facilities in the islands closed in 1992 after the Philippine Senate refused to ratify a treaty extending their lease.
The new defense pact — part of America’s strategic pivot to Asia — is seen as key to deterring China, which in recent years has aggressively pursued claims to offshore natural resources that are also claimed by the Philippines. China also has territory disputes with other countries in the East and South China seas.
U.S. personnel will not be granted liberty during Balikatan, which runs April 20-30, U.S. officials said.
Shore leave in the Philippines has been restricted since the death of Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, 26, a transgender person whose body was found Oct. 11 in a motel bathroom near the former U.S. Naval Facility Subic Bay. Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton is on trial for the slaying.
Marine Capt. Alex Lim, a spokesman for U.S. forces participating in Balikatan, said Wednesday that Elements of the Okinawa-based III Marine Expeditionary Force will conduct beach landings on Luzon. U.S. forces will work out of Clark Air Base, a large former Air Force facility on the island, and a combined arms live-fire exercise will take place at the nearby Crow Valley Gunnery Range, he said.
Balikatan incorporates humanitarian assistance work on Palawan and Panay islands, Lim said.
An Armed Forces of the Philippines statement said Australian defense personnel also will participate in civil-military operations on Palawan and Panay.
No comments:
Post a Comment