MANILA — The inaugural “Balikatan” multilateral maritime drill involving the Philippines, United States, and France concluded successfully on Monday, with all participating vessels completing the exercise without any incidents.

According to Balikatan Combined Information Bureau chief Lt. Col. John Paul Salgado, the historic event marked a significant milestone in regional cooperation and security. The drill, which commenced on April 25 and ended on April 29 in Palawan, showcased the active involvement of the Philippine Navy’s BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16) and BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602), the US Navy’s USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49), and the French Navy’s FS Vendemiaire (FFH-734).

With approximately 17,000 Filipino and American soldiers participating in the broader three-week “Balikatan” exercises running from April 22 to May 10, the five-day multilateral maritime exercise featured impressive demonstrations. These included a coordinated photo exercise depicting simulated formation sailing and the documentation of operations using proper photographic techniques for military purposes.

Additionally, participants engaged in surface gun exercises to test live-fire capabilities and communication skills under challenging conditions. The MME not only showcased professionalism and coordination but also provided valuable knowledge and expertise to enhance the capabilities of the participating countries.

(el Amigo/MNM)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — “When you’re weak, pretend that you’re strong. When you’re strong, pretend that you’re weak,” once advised Chinese legendary military genius Sun Tzu in his book “The Art of War” and this seems to be being applied when the number of Chinese vessels has increased in the West Philippines Sea amid “Balikatan” or the joint military exercise of the Philippines and United States.

On Tuesday (23 April 2024), Philippine Navy spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad disclosed that there’s a big increase in the number of Chinese maritime militia vessels in the WPS particularly in Bajo de Masinloc and Pag-asa Island.

“Our monitoring for the past two months for March and April has given us a fairly constant—from a low of 33 and a high of 69, and average of 60 various vessels of China,” Trinidad said in a press conference.

From April 16 to 22, the Philippine Navy noticed 124 Chinese vessels including three PLAN ships and 11 Chinese Coast Guard vessels were spotted in the WPS.

“Only for this week that we have seen a surge of up to a total of 124. Three People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and (China) Coast Guard having 10. This coincides with Balikatan. This upsurge is out of the normal,” Trinidad noted.

Bajo de Masinloc – 38 vessels (7 Chinese Coast Guard ships, 31 Chinese maritime militia vessels)

Ayungin Shoal – 31 (3 CCG ships, 28 CMM vessels)

Pag-asa Island – 46 (1 PLAN ship, 1 CCG ship, 44 CMM vessels)

Parola Island – 3 CMM vessels

Lawak Island – 1 PLAN ship

Panata Island – 4 CMM vessels

Patag Island – PLAN vessel

Trinidad further noted that the Chinese maritime militia vessels were anchored together.

(el Amigo/mnm)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — For the first time, Balikatan — the annual joint military exercise of the Philippines and the United States — will have activities outside the territorial waters of the country featuring units of the Philippine Navy, US Navy, French Navy, and the Philippine Coast Guard.

Balikatan’s executive agent Colonel Michael Logico on Wednesday (20 March 2024) disclosed that these activities will be conducted beyond 12 nautical miles or 22.22 kilometers off the west coast of Palawan.

“We will be utilizing the western side of Palawan, extending beyond our 12 nautical miles so this is also a new thing. We have done group sails before but this time we will be going beyond our 12 nautical mile limitation,” Logico said in a press conference.

He stressed that the area beyond 12 nautical miles is already considered international waters.

Logico said this year’s Balikatan is set to be conducted around April and May.

It will involve 16,000 troops including around 11,000 US and 5,000 Philippine personnel.

Around 14 countries will also participate as observers.

“The message we want to send is that we are serious about defending our territory and we have allies. That’s it and the alliance is still going strong,” Logico quipped.

(el Amigo/MNM)