Manila, Philippines — Hundreds of US and Filipino troops concluded Monday a new combat exercise in the northern Philippines that tested their resilience in more than a week of brutal heat and volatile weather and prepared them to respond to any threat in the rainforests and on scattered islands, two American and Filipino generals said.
The Biden administration has been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any potential confrontation over Taiwan and other Asian flashpoints. The move has dovetailed with the Philippines’ efforts to shore up its territorial defenses amid escalation of disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.
Large-scale battle drills, which have been held in Hawaii in recent years under the US Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center Pacific, have been introduced in the Philippines this year. There is also a version in Alaska. The exercises allow the U.S. military, its allies and friendly forces to train in extreme conditions “where they are most likely to operate from archipelagos, jungles and heat in the tropics to high altitudes and extreme cold in the Arctic,” Maj. Adan said. Cazares, public affairs officer for the US Army’s 25th Infantry Division.
The June 1-10 war exercise began with an air assault against simulated enemy forces to allow the deployment of American and Filipino soldiers who secured an area that served as a base before a major offensive. When their supply lines of communication were threatened, senior commanders decided to move to a defensive assault, repelled the enemy attempt and successfully launched the offensive.
Military advisors reviewed key aspects of the battle drill, including planning, deployments, logistical preparations and contingency preparation, to determine combat efficiency.
The combat exercises, Cazares said, were integrated for the first time this year into the annual joint exercises between the US and Philippine military called Salaknib. About 1,500 American and Filipino soldiers took part in the new battle exercises held inside Fort Magsaysay, a sprawling Philippine Army camp in an agricultural region known for its scorching weather. The temperature this year had been exacerbated by El Niño, an occasional warming of the Pacific that changes global weather patterns.
“The terrain is, without a doubt, some of the most difficult our soldiers have ever experienced navigating. The daily heat was over 95 degrees (Fahrenheit; 35 degrees Celsius) and challenged us from a sustainable perspective. Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans, commander of the U.S. Army’s Hawaii-based 25th Infantry Division, told The Associated Press in an online interview from the battle training site.
Coordinating artillery fire and aerial fire and maneuvers “in very challenging terrain and, really, unforgiving temperatures, were things that added to the overall value of the training,” Evans said. He added that American pilots also had to adapt to the region’s unpredictable weather.
Philippine Army Maj. Gen. Andrew de Lara Costelo said the combat exercises were designed to allow U.S. and Philippine forces and potentially other allies to operate smoothly in future contingencies.
“This encourages interoperability and shared tactics, techniques and procedures.” Costelo told the AP.
The war exercises were held after the conclusion of two larger consecutive exercises earlier this year between US and Philippine forces, Salaknib and Balikatan — Tagalog, shoulder-to-shoulder, which saw more than 16,000 U.S. and Filipino military personnel participate in their largest combat maneuvers involving live-fire exercises in and near the disputed South China Sea. Several countries sent military observers.
China has vehemently opposed combat exercises and increased deployments of US forces to Asia. even in the Philippines, saying that such a military presence was endangering regional stability and was designed to contain Beijing. The Philippine military says the military exercises did not target any country and served to deter aggression.
Last year, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. defended his decision allowing a US military presence in more Philippine military camps under a 2014 defense pact, saying it was vital to his country’s territorial defense.
China had warned that the increased US military presence would “drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical struggle.”
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