Filipino, American and French naval ships involved in the Balikatan multilateral maritime exercise (MME) sailed from Puerto Princesa, Palawan on Thursday to the drill's areas in the West Philippine Sea.
BALIKATAN 2024 FS Vendemiaire, USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49), BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16) conduct Division Tactics during the Multilateral Maritime Exercise that kicked off on Thursday, April 25, in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. Photo taken from BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602). AFP PHOTO
The participating naval ships for the MME include the offshore patrol vessel BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16) and landing dock BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602) for the Philippine Navy; the landing ship dock USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49) for the US Navy and the French Navy's FS Vendemiaire (F-374), a Floreal-class frigate.
In a media interview, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command spokesperson Navy Capt. Ariel Joseph Coloma said the BRP Ramon Alcaraz was the first ship to leave Puerto Princesa City at 9 a.m., followed by the BRP Davao Del Sur and FS Vendemiaire.
The last to leave was the USS Harpers Ferry which left around noon.
Coloma said the four ships are the only participants in the MME which started Thursday.
While at the eastern coast of Palawan, Coloma said the ships will conduct training activities.
"Mag-uumpisa na sila ng kanilang mga (they will start with their) division tactics, officer-of-the-watch maneuvers, (while) they are sailing together at the east coast. Then going up north up to Mindoro Strait then papasok na sila sa (then they will enter the) West Philippine Sea, so tuloy-tuloy rin yung exercise like yung (and they will conduct) photo exercise at saka (and) gunnery exercise, that will be until April 29," he added.
After the activity, Coloma said these ships will "break away" to fulfill their other commitments like the BRP Davao del Sur which is scheduled to join an amphibious assault exercise on April 30.
Meanwhile, BRP Ramon Alcaraz and FS Vendemiaire will be doing a "bilateral sail" from April 30 to May 3, while the USS Harpers Ferry will "proceed independently" on the area or activity where it will operate next.
"Exercise 'Balikatan' in general to include the MME will really help us enhance (our) interoperability with our allied forces specifically with our US counterparts and also, (the) training will also enhanced yung capacity ng tropa natin (out troops' capability)," Coloma said.
New equipment acquired by the Philippines military would be tested aside from practicing and determining on whether military doctrines adopted by the AFP are still applicable.
This year's Balikatan drills, set from April 22 to May 10, involve 16,000 American and Filipino soldiers.
Contingency measures
Meanwhile, a ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official said the other day while China is not expected to interfere in the ongoing "Balikatan" exercise, they are prepared to implement contingency measures for such an event.
"Yes, there are appropriate measures in place," PN spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a media briefing Tuesday afternoon, but he did not elaborate due to security reasons.
Asked why he believes China will not interfere in the three-week drills, Trinidad said it is because the "activity is between the United States and the Philippines."
"Historically, the illegal, unprovoked, uncalled-for actions of China will only be (against the) Philippines," Trinidad said.
He also declined to comment on whether Balikatan's "multilateral maritime exercise" will be timed or coordinated with a rotation and reprovisioning for the detachment in Ayungin Shoal.
Naval and Coast Guard ships from the Philippines, United States, and France are expected to take part in this event.
"I would like to leave the details to the ground commander, the commander Western Command, and Naval Forces (West), I don't want to preempt anything," Trinidad said.
He also said troops manning the Ayungin Shoal detachment still have adequate food and other supplies as they have no urgent request for these.
Also, Trinidad said he expects China to be less aggressive during the course of the "multilateral maritime exercise."
"Yes, that has been the call ever since for China to respect international law and I expect them to behave actually this time," he added.
Naval improvements for archipelagic defense
As this developed, PN chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr. said efforts are ongoing to improve the country's naval capabilities pursuant to the military's Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC).
Part of this effort is the commissioning of the "new fast attack interdiction craft and integration of advanced missile systems," Adaci said.
He was referring to the arrival of the Acero-class missile boats armed with the NLOS (non-line of sight) missiles that were test fired last April 10 off the water of Bataan.
"Activities and milestones such as this extend to the ongoing expansion (and) improvement of naval bases across (the) archipelago. These upgrades and efforts strategically position our assets for effective defense and we will continue improving our maritime capabilities toward creating a credible defense posture and a naval force (fully capable) mission for (the) CADC," Adaci said.
"We also began crafting the concept of naval support to the CADC and have undertaken significant strides in collaborating with subject matter experts and other government agencies," he added. PNA
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