ARMY forces from the Philippines and the United States are poised to hold the first big military exercises under the two countries’ defense agreement as sites have been identified in the central part of Luzon.
The war games involving troops from the Philippine Army and US Army Pacific (USARPAC) will hold the 20-day land and beach exercises in March in the operational areas of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division in Central Luzon.
Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the Army’s Office of the Chief of Staff for Education and Training and American personnel concluded over the weekend their three-day inspection of sites for the “Salaknib” training exercises in different areas in Central Luzon.
“Philippine Army and USARPAC teams inspected the proposed training sites to ensure availability, suitability, and training-worthiness,” Trinidad said.
Military exercises between the US and the Philippines are seen to revert to their original levels beginning this year following the full reinstitution of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) last year after the Philippines recalled its move to have it abrogated.
One of the exercises is the Salaknib (Shield) which involves Army forces from both countries.
Salaknib is an annual training exercise sponsored by USARPAC and hosted by the Philippine Army. It aims to enhance Philippine and US defense readiness by developing tactical interoperability, and at the same time, showcases the US government’s resolve to fulfill its alliance obligations in the region.
This year’s war games will involve, on the Philippine side, Army troops from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, Training and Doctrine Command, Army Support Command, 51st Engineer Brigade, Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Army Artillery Regiment, Aviation Regiment, Armor Division, Light Reaction Regiment, Special Forces Regiment and First Scout Ranger Regiment.
The forces will train side by side with their USARPAC counterparts.
Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. commended the Salaknib planning team for its thorough work aimed at ensuring the success of the bilateral exercise even amid the pandemic.
“Salaknib, which means shield in Ilocano, is a testament to our enduring ties with the US Army. It is anchored on the Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty and has been ongoing since 2015. The conduct of combined training exercises between the Philippine and US armies will capacitate us in effectively dealing with the fast-changing security landscape of the Indo-Pacific
region,” said.