AFP opens joint land, sea, air drills

MANILA - More than 1,500 active and reserve forces from the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy and Philippine Marines, as well as the AFP Special Operations Command and AFP Cyber Group, will take part in annual large-scale conventional warfare drills to test the military’s interoperability.

The AFP Joint Exercise Dagat-Langit-Lupa or AJEX DAGIT-PA was formally opened Monday in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

The exercises will be held in several areas in the joint operational area of the Western Command in Palawan until Nov. 18.

“’Yung venue, niro-rotate natin. This time, the area is in Palawan. The area in Palawan would provide our troops a better training area,” Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters.

“This exercise has been planned for the longest time. It took about a year to plan this naman. The pictures that came out recently of some structures built by some other country in the (South China Sea) area is just coincidental. The exercise has nothing to do with that development right now,” he said when asked if the location of this year's AJEX DAGIT-PA has something to do with China’s development of structures on artificial islands in the Spratlys.

The drills will include air defense and counter-air operations, maritime security operations, amphibious operations, combined arms live fire exercises, urban operations, and urban warfare.

The participating troops will also work together to strengthen their capabilities to fight cyber-attacks.

“Ang difference nito sa nakaraang exercise is now, we have live fires in the area… Ang bago rin ang cyber natin. We need to strengthen our capability to detect and defend our assets against any cyber-attack or threat,” Bacarro said. “That is an imminent threat, hindi lang sa AFP, but even sa ibang organizations, for different reasons.”

The AFP chief noted that continuous military education and training are indispensable to the AFP.

“Everything starts with training. Although may individual capability ang lahat ng services, the purpose of the joint operation is to integrate all of these capabilities coming up with a single defense to address some of the threats. Kailangan imesh mo eh to maximize the effects of all these capabilities,” Bacarro said.

“This can also be related to the acquisition of new equipment and technologies that the different services are having right now. Kailangan iintegrate mo ito. Dapat may single orchestrated na defense," he added.

Other government agencies such as the Palawan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Philippine Coast Guard will also participate in the drills.

The Philippine Army will deploy its new C-206 aircraft and armored vehicles. For its part, the Philippine Air Force will utilize its FA-50PH, A29B Super Tucano and C-130 aircraft. The Philippine Navy’s patrol ship, landing dock, naval helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, and the Philippine Marines’ amphibious assault vehicles will also be used.

Participants and assets have arrived in Puerto Princesa City on Sunday.

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