The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will deploy six civilian ships that will participate in a group sail in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) for the upcoming 39th iteration of the “Balikatan Exercise”.
This is the first time in the history of the annual war games that the PCG will join the maritime activities between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US Armed Forces.
PCG Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan directed the Coast Guard Fleet to send four 44-meter multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) and two larger patrol vessels for the Multilateral Maritime Exercise which will also be joined by counterparts from the AFP, US, Australia, and France.
“This is the first time that the PCG will join the Balikatan Exercise,” PCG spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said on Thursday, April 18.
“Members of the Coast Guard Special Operations Force are also set to undertake joint interoperability exercises with the Philippine Navy (PN) and their counterparts from Australia, France, and the US,” he added.
In the previous iterations of the Balikatan, the training only focused on the interoperability of the AFP and US Armed Forces.
Observers from other nations have been usually deployed to exchange best practices on military operations with the Philippines and US militaries.
Given the complex situation in the WPS, the AFP decided to include the white ships of the PCG and US Coast Guard with the gray ships of the participating countries for the conduct of the maritime drills.
However, the AFP had clarified that the Balikatan is not directed at China, which condemns the linking up of countries amid a heated territorial dispute with the Philippines in the WPS.
Balikatan will run from April 22 to May 10.