Nearly 9,000 US, Philippine troops to take part in training exercises in South-East Asian country from Monday (March 28)

MANILA, March 25 (dpa): Nearly 9,000 American and Filipino soldiers will take part in military training exercises in the Philippines from Monday (March 28), the largest to be conducted under President Rodrigo Duterte, the armed forces had announced this week.

This year’s Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises will take place starting on Monday and last through April 8. It will be attended by 5,100 American soldiers and 3,800 Filipino soldiers, according to a joint statement by the Philippines-US Balikatan information bureau.

"Balikatan is a testament to the strength of the Philippines and United States’ security relationship,” Major General Charlton Sean Gaerlan, the Philippine military’s exercise director, had said.

The training activities scheduled this year will focus on maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban operations, aviation operations, counterterrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the information bureau said.

"The US military and the (armed forces of the Philippines) will train together to expand and advance shared tactics, techniques, and procedures that strengthen our response capabilities and readiness for real-world challenges,” said Major General Jay Bargeron, commander of the US 3rd Marine Division.

The Balikatan exercises have been staged annually in the Philppines since the 1990s, but the activity had been scaled down under Duterte, who often criticized the United States.

Duterte even scrapped a key defence pact with the US in 2020, amid tensions about Washington's criticism of the administration’s controversial crackdown on illegal drugs.

He later recalled the abrogation of the agreement amid the coronavirus pandemic and growing tensions with China regarding territorial disputes in the South China Sea. - dpa