RP-US naval exercise begins - 7/18/02
MANILA (AP) — The Philippines and the United States began a 10-day joint naval exercise yesterday from the former US base at Subic.
The two countries each have about 1,400 sailors, marines, and coast guard forces participating in the exercise that will culminate in a mock amphibious assault, US military spokeswoman Leslie Hull-Ryde said at a press briefing at the former Subic base.
Most of the training will take place at sea with the main focus on readiness for disaster relief efforts, she said. Five U.S. ships and five Philippine ships are participating.
Philippine military spokesman Lt. Col. Danilo Servando said US forces will be given limited "liberty" during their brief stay in the country, moving to fend off criticism that past US presence encouraged prostitution in this predominantly Roman Catholic country.
"Before they go on liberty, liberty policies will be announced.
We have designated security officers to give the visiting US servicemen a briefing on their host areas," Servando said.
Servando also said Filipinos have been informed about the American presence in order to provide "security measures."
About 100 policemen will be deployed outside the former base to secure the Americans' safety, said Orlando Medalla, police chief of nearby Olangapo City.
Some 300 US Marines are coming from Okinawa, Japan, 100 Coast Guardsmen from Alameda, California, and 1,000 sailors from Japan, Hawaii, and San Diego.
Three US military doctors will take part in a variety of civic projects that also include medical and dental clinics and refurbishment of a school near Subic, Hull-Ryde said.
Several joint exercises are held each year in the Philippines under agreements reached after the Philippine government refused a decade ago to renew leases with Washington for the use of Subic and the former Clark air base in the former US colony.
Warships
SUBIC BAY (AFP) - Five warships carrying 1,400 US servicemen docked at this former American naval base Wednesday to begin 10 days of joint naval exercises with their Filipino counterparts.
The Cooperation Afloat Readiness Training (CARAT) exercise is the latest in a series of joint operations between US naval forces and navies in Southeast Asia.
It comes as more than 1,000 US soldiers are winding down six months of counter-terrorism operations in the southern Philippines.
"CARAT aims to increase interoperability and enhance regional cooperation and build a strengthened military-to-military and personal relationship," said US military spokeswoman Lieutenant Leslie Hull-Ryde at the base, north of the capital Manila.
The Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States highlighted the value of US forces working closer with their allies in the Asia-Pacific, Hull-Ryde said.
The five US Navy and Coast Guard ships joining the exercises are the USS Vincennes, the USS Anchorage, the USS George H. Philip, the USCG Morgenthau, and the USS Salvor.
Hull-Ryde said US Marines will use the exercise as an opportunity to undergo jungle survival training.
For the Philippine military, the training be good preparation for modernization, Philippine Navy spokesman Capt. Arthur Alviar said.
"Our modernization program in the armed forces is ongoing and the Filipino soldiers should be ready in terms of transfer of technology and skills," Alviar said.
The training will include at-sea exercises and small arms fire and the 1,395 Filipino sailors taking part will board US ships for hands-on training, US and Filipino spokesmen said.
CARAT is separate from the joint US-Philippine "Balikatan" operation currently targeting Muslim Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the southern Philippines.
Some 1,000 US troops are in the south assisting and training local soldiers in the fight against the Abu Sayyaf who are linked to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
The operations in the south are due to end on July 31 but National Security Adviser Roilo Golez has said discussions were being held to provide for another joint operation with US forces, possibly in the south, where the remnants of the Abu Sayyaf are still active.