The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) are interested to conduct additional military drills in the future to develop their capabilities.
AFP Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. and ADF Chief Gen. Angus Campbell reached this consensus as the two military forces concluded Exercise Alon 2023, the first bilateral amphibious training activity between the two countries, on Tuesday, August 29.
Brawner emphasized that military drills with other countries, such as Exercise Alon, help enhance the troops’ capability on conducting combined operations to improve their tactics, techniques, and procedures.
“All have seen how the relationship between both our Armed Forces has grown, from counterterrorism and now shifting to territorial defense. There is a lot of room for us to work together,” Brawner told Campbell when the latter paid a courtesy visit at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
During the two-week Exercise Alon that started last August 14, a total of 560 personnel from the AFP and 1,200 service men from ADF trained together in a number of exercises including an air assault drill in Rizal, Palawan; and an amphibious assault exercise in Zambales. There were also 120 support personnel from the United States Marine Corps.
The air assault exercise was designed to simulate realistic combat scenarios to enhance the forces’ preparedness and operational readiness across air, sea, and land actions. Over 600 soldiers from the AFP, ADF, and USMC, and close air support by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-35A Lightening II and E-7A Wedgetail joined the activity.
Meanwhile, the amphibious assault exercise simulated a retaking of an island captured by enemy forces. It was carried-out by launching a combined amphibious landing force from Navy ships to secure the beach landing sites, followed by parachute insertion to seize the objectives, and a simultaneous landing via landing craft and USMC MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
A land live fire training will mark the final phase of the exercise on August 31.
“We want to showcase the close ties that we have among our Armed Forces. We would also like to thank you for the recent exercise,” Brawner told Campbell.
For his part, Campbell noted that the bilateral exercise demonstrated the deep level of military cooperation between the Philippines and Australia.
“We want to make sure that the particular form of the military is evolving in ways that the Armed Forces of the Philippines want and that would see mutual benefit and partnership. I want to make sure that we remain a partner that listens and adapts,” Campbell said.
Aside from additional exercises, the AFP and ADF are also considering to hold joint patrol operations in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Brawner had said in an earlier interview.
Exercise Alon was held amid the challenges faced by the AFP in WPS due to the ongoing aggressive behavior of China.
The exercise forms part of the Indo Pacific Endeavor (IPE) 2023, Australia’s flagship international engagement activity in the Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean regions to promote security, stability, and stronger partnerships through bilateral and multilateral engagement training, capacity building, and humanitarian efforts.
Australia was among the countries that condemned China after the latter’s coast guard fired a water cannon at Philippine vessels delivering supplies to troops at Ayungin Shoal last August 5.