PH-US Balikatan 2024 opens, drills not a 'partnership of convenience' --- By Priam Nepomuceno

ANILA – The three-week annual Exercise “Balikatan” between Filipino and American troops officially opened on Monday, with 16,000 soldiers representing the "essence of unity, collective responsibility and enduring partnership between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America and other partners." Speaking at the opening rites in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the 39th installment of the annual drills is not a partnership of convenience but a “clear reflection of our shared history, unwavering commitment to democracy and respect for international law in our pursuit of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific Region." He said the "Balikatan," literally meaning shoulder to shoulder, stands as an evidence of the Philippines and America’s efforts to enhance the cooperation, dedication and mutual intentions that strengthen the interoperability of the two nations' military forces. "Through joint and combined operational settings, we have diligently worked to achieve our shared goals, as coastal nations the United States and the Philippines share the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean," he added. The AFP chief stressed that maritime cooperation is vital in addressing complex challenges that threaten peace and security in the region. "Together alongside our like-minded partners we are fully committed to upholding a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The ever-evolving nature of defense necessitates our adoption and transformation," he added. He said the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept would enhance the Philippines’ defense capabilities. "Balikatan also represents an extraordinary opportunity for us to deepen our collaborations with friends, partners and allies," Brawner said. The exercises that will run until May 10 involve 11,000 Americans and 5,000 Filipinos. Observers from Southeast Asia, United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, India, Germany, Japan and New Zealand would also monitor the exercises. "Their presence signifies the tremendous importance of friendliness crossing borders as we together strive to foster a free, open and internationally based order in the Indo-Pacific Region," Brawner said. Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) on Monday announced that 157 of its officers were deployed for the military drills. "The SAF contingent will participate in a range of activities such as high-risk visit board search and seizure, dive operations, urban warfare, direct action ISO key maritime security operations, fast rope insertion and extraction system, special reconnaissance ISO high mobility artillery rocket system, military operations in urban terrain, friendship jump, civil-military operations-civil affairs, evaluator/supervisor, event planner/C2, and bilateral academic seminar," SAF director Maj. Gen. Bernard Banac said in a statement. (with Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

By Harvey Sapigao Senate hearing of the revised procurement law (Photo credit: Senate of the Philippines) College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists. Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.” This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate he
Read more

Gaza war rages into fourth month as Blinken tours Middle East Adel Zaanoun with Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, --- Agence France-Presse

The Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza entered its fourth month on Sunday as the army again pounded the besieged Palestinian territory and US top diplomat Antony Blinken was back in the region seeking to avoid a wider escalation. Israeli airstrikes overnight and early Sunday killed at least 64 people in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, said its health ministry. It said two journalists were killed when their car was struck. The ministry, medics, and witnesses identified them as Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for Agence France-Presse, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza who earlier lost his wife and two other children in an Israeli strike. Israeli bombardment also claimed other civilian lives in the southern city of Khan Yunis and in the Rafah area near the Egyptian border, where many of the territory's displaced people have sought refuge, AFP correspondents reported. Relatives were mourning the dead at Khan Yunis' European Hospital, am
Read more