(Reuters) — Philippine and U.S. troops engaged in maritime surveillance exercises at a military camp in Zambales province on Friday (May 9) as part of a two-week joint exercise aimed at improving security ties between nations.
The joint exercises “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) tests the combat readiness of the two allies in responding to maritime threats, including piracy and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
About 120 troops from the Philippines and the U.S. Marine Corps boarded rubber boats from aPhilippine Navy ship and simulated amphibious operations from the coastline, practising stealth landing and troop deployment at a nearby beach.
U.S. Marine Corps Captain Alex Lim said the exercise will help soldiers respond in emergency situations.
“Be it this environment where it is pretty passive, or environment where you may have reefs, or you may have an environment with enemy, who knows? But that stuff is something that you know, that’s why we do this type of training, that’s why the marines are so good at it,” he said.
Armed Forces of the Philippines Balikatan Co-Director, Lieutenant Annaleah Cazcarro said the exercise was not related to tensions in the South China Sea.
“This is just an exercise which enhances us to be more effective, so I don’t think there would be an issue or relationship between what’s happening down south,” she said.
The annual joint exercises is the first under a new security pact with the United States, which improves the framework of the war games and allows greater access of U.S. troops inside the Philippine bases, amid China’s growing naval presence in the disputed South China Sea
The war games come under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, part of a web of security alliances the United States built in the Asia-Pacific region during the Cold War.
The Philippines has territorial disputes with China over the South China Sea, which is said to be rich in deposits of oil and gas and carry about $5 billion in ship-borne trade every year. The Spratlys in the South China Sea are also claimed by Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
