Balikatan in Bicol Could Bring Combat Operations

Published on March 14, 2009

There may be more to the Balikatan military exercises which are set to be held in the Bicol Region this coming April than the much-vaunted “humanitarian missions”. The participation of an overwhelmingly large number of US troops indicates a high likelihood of combat operations during the exercises, said the spokesperson of a Bicol-based anti-Balikatan alliance.

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat

According to Maj. Ramon Zagala, deputy spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), some 5,500-6,000 US troops will participate in the Balikatan military exercises in Bicol. They will be joined by some 2,500 Filipino troops.

Zagala also said the US troops will be bringing in several warships and aircraft, including F-16 fighter planes.

Some of these US troops have arrived and have been seen manning checkpoints – particularly in Pili, Camarines Sur and Matnog, Sorsogon. The bulk of these US troops, however, are expected to arrive on March 16, Zagala said.

Bicolanos march on the first day of a three-day caravan against the forthcoming Balikatan military exercises in their region . (Photo from BAN Balikatan)

“It seems that the overwhelming number of US troops to be fielded for this year’s Balikatan indicates that they have more plans for the Philippines than they would let on,” said Prof. Jocelyn Bisuna, spokesperson of the Bicolano Alliance for Nationalism Against Balikatan (BAN Balikatan), in an e-mail interview. “It is obvious that they are stepping up their surveillance of progressive organizations and revolutionary groups. The deployment of the US troops also tells us that after the surveillance phase, combat operations will follow.”

The Philippine Senate’s concurrence in the RP-US Visiting Forces in 1999, and then-President Joseph Estrada’s approval of it that same year, paved the way for the regular Balikatan military exercises which began in 2002.

A “fact sheet” on the VFA which the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) released on Feb. 25 includes “intelligence…(and) surveillance” support as among the supposed benefits from “VFA-related exercises”.

Zagala’s statements, which he made in an interview with the international news service Agence France Presse in early February, contradicts a Jan. 29 official press release by the AFP, in which it is stated that the Balikatan exercises to be held in the Bicol Region will focus on “disaster rehabilitation and rural development projects.”

“These will materialize through the Engineering Civic Action Program (ENCAP) and Medical Action Program (MEDCAP) activities which will be conducted in Bicol region,” the AFP press release further stated.

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