Philippine Military on alert for 2 Malaysian bomb experts

Military forces in Mindanao raised their alert level following reports on the alleged presence of two Malaysian bomb experts out to train local terrorists.

Intelligence reports circulating in Cagayan de Oro said the Malaysians are in addition to four Jemaah Islamiyah members – three Indonesians and one Singaporean – in the region engaged in training the Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Central Mindanao.

The report said a foreign terrorist and 10 BIFF members were targeting Cagayan de Oro for bombing.
The BIFF had earlier threatened to bomb key areas in Mindanao and Manila after it suffered heavy casualties from last week’s firefights with government forces in Central Mindanao. Some 50 BIFF members were reportedly killed in the armed conflict.

The reports named the Singaporean as Mawiya Husayfa who carries a $1-million bounty on his head, and the other three as Abdul Kiram, Mujair Algozi and Basit Usman, whose bounty was placed at $10 million.   

Article Source: Philippine Star

Six nations to join in talks during US-Philippines drill

Manila, March 18 (IANS) Australia, Brunei, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand will take part in a maritime security discussion with the US and the Philippines during a military exercise to be held in April, a Philippine official said.

The "Multinational Maritime Security Roundtable Discussion" is part of the upcoming Balikatan Exercise 2013, Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The exercises will take place April 5-17.

However, the six other countries will not be taking part in the actual field training exercises which will be limited to Filipino and US forces alone, the official said.

"The roundtable discussion seeks to determine specific humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in high- traffic international waters, and build response confidence among multi-national partners," said Burgos.

"The event will be one of the highlights of this year's military exercise where more than 8,000 soldiers from the AFP and US military are set to participate," he said.

Burgos said the annual exercise seeks to "further promote and foster the existing friendship" between the two countries and "advance the security and stability of the region in the near future".

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Indo Asian News Service | March 18, 2013 | Article Link

Philippines studying military accord with Singapore

The Philippines is studying a military training agreement with Singapore and is closely watching the progress of a similar accord with Australia for lessons, the defence department said.

The proposed Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) would allow Philippine and Singaporean troops to train in each other's countries, reviving joint exercises that were suspended in 1996, department spokesman, Peter Galvez, said on Saturday.

The department is looking at the experiences with both the Philippines' existing VFA with the United States and a VFA bill with Australia being debated in the Senate, Galvez said.

"They are collating all the experiences with the various agreements so we can craft a well-rounded VFA (with Singapore) that everyone can agree to," he told AFP.

Singapore had a military training agreement with the Philippines in 1994 but joint exercises were suspended in 1996 because under Philippine law the entry of foreign troops for wargames must be covered by a VFA approved by the Senate.

Singapore submitted a draft proposal to the Philippines in 2007 but progress in crafting the final bill was slow due because the Manila office concerned lacked manpower, said Galvez.
The United States, the country's main defence ally, sealed such a VFA in 1999 and a similar accord with Australia is pending.

Nationalists and leftists have opposed such agreements as a violation of the country's sovereignty.

The Philippines' defence ties have received greater attention in recent weeks after a maritime standoff with China broke out two months ago over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

Galvez said "we are more positive with the Australian VFA. If it rolls out, that will be template for the other countries".

However he said it would be a long time before the agreement with Singapore is presented to the senators.

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Agence France-Presse/Yahoo News Online | June 9, 2012 | Article Link

Gazmin, Dellosa tackle regional security challenges in Singapore summit

MANILA, Philippines - Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa tackled before Asia’s top defense and military delegates to the 11th Asia Security Summit of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore the multi-faceted security challenges the region is facing while batting for a peaceful resolution to the country’s prevailing territorial standoff with China in the West Philippine Sea.

Discussions yesterday at the three-day summit currently being held at the Shangri-La Hotel centered on regional balance of power, transnational threats, climate change and natural disasters.

United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the keynote speaker at this yearly regional security event, declared during the same forum that the US is closely watching the development in Panatag Shoal.

“Simultaneous special sessions are also being undertaken, paving the way for the discussions on West Philippine Sea disputes, armed forces and domestic emergencies, Northeast Asian dangers and opportunities, submarines and regional security and South Asia’s growing security threats,” AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said.

Aside from plenary and special discussions, Gazmin also held bilateral talks with Panetta.

In their bilateral meeting, the two defense chiefs reaffirmed their respective countries’ commitments to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), with a pledged to increase US-Philippine military cooperation in a range of areas, including cyberspace, and expanding joint information sharing, surveillance, and reconnaissance activities.

“The cornerstone of the existing and any future enhancements of our security relationship will be to assist with capacity building of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, safeguard the stability in the region, and increase interoperability so that we can effectively provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destructions together,” Pentagon spokesman George Little quoted him as saying.

Dellosa, for his part, had direct exchanges with his counterparts in the region to discuss-wide ranging security issues, particularly the West Philippine Sea dispute.

Aside from Panatag Shoal, which is 120 nautical miles from mainland Zambales that Beijing is claiming to be an integral part of its territory, China also declared total ownership of the entire South China Sea to include islets, reefs, atolls, cays, sandbars in the Spratly archipelago, which the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have interlocking territorial claims.

“The Shrangi-La dialogue is a very timely venue where we can discuss with foreign defense and security counterparts the pressing security challenges and concerns that the Philippines, the Asia-Pacific region as a whole, is facing at present,” said Dellosa, without mentioning the country’s prevailing territorial standoff with China.

Before his meeting with Gazmin, Panetta highlighted in his speech the South China Sea territorial dispute, while giving emphasis to the strengthening relations between the Philippines and the US.

“We are energizing our alliance with the Philippines,” said Panetta, as reported in online news.

US Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, who is also attending the Singapore Shangri-La security summit, is reportedly traveling to the Philippines while Panetta is scheduled to visit Vietnam and later India.

Days after the standoff in Panatag Shoal and with Chinese warships reportedly conducting joint maritime training in international waters between Luzon and Taiwan, US nuclear powered submarine USS North Carolina silently surfaced at the former US Naval Base in Subic, Zambales followed by the visit of two Indian warships.

Three Japanese training warships were also in the country last week.

But the US defense chief stressed that the US government position in resolving any territorial dispute among countries is consistent and that these issues must be resolved through diplomacy and in a manner consistent with international law.

He said the US government will oppose any moves to provoke, to coerce and use force to resolve and settle these territorial disputes.

“We have made our views clear to our close treaty ally the Philippines, to China, and to other countries in the region,” said Panetta, who after his bilateral meeting with Gazmin met with Japanese Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister of Defense Shu Watanabe and South Korean Minister of Defense Kim Kwan-Jin.

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Jaime Laude | The Philippine Star | June 3, 2012 | Article Link

Military ready for Pacific Partnership 2012

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will host the largest annual humanitarian and civic assistance mission in the Pacific sponsored by the US Pacific Fleet. 

The Pacific Partnership 2012 will focus on the province of Samar from June 18 to July 1 with the conduct of civic action programs and humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) activities.

This year’s partner nations will include Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Korea, Chile, Peru, and Netherlands, the AFP said in a statement. 

Foreign non-government organizations (NGO) like the Project Hope, Oceanit, World Vets, and Vietnam Medical Assistance Program will also join local NGOs in the implementation of engineering civic action programs; medical civic action programs, dental civic action programs, and veterinary civic action programs; and HADR lectures and seminars.

The AFP will also maximize the participation of reservists in the conduct of Pacific Partnership 2012 as part of the AFP Chief of Staff General Jessie D. Dellosa’s directive to mobilize reservists and highlight their roles in the implementation of humanitarian assistance, disaster response, and other civil military operations.

This has also been the case with the successful implementation of the “territorial battalion” of the 24th Infantry Battalion in Zambales where reservists joined regular soldiers to form Bayanihan Patrol Teams where they were involved in providing community services, developmental activities, rescue and relief operations, medical and dental mission assistance, environmental protection engagements, youth leadership seminars and civil military activities.

The Pacific Partnership 2012 was rooted from humanitarian initiatives following the tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004 and killed more than 200,000 people. It was developed by the US Navy in a “whole of government” approach of American policy in the Pacific.

The Pacific Partnership 2012 will adopt the motto, “Prepare in Calm to Respond in Crisis” in addressing necessary precautions in calamity prone countries in the Pacific. 

The AFP Central Command will organize and inter-agency task force that is expected to include the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard, and local government units to ensure close coordination and security in the activities.

Meanwhile, Dellosa welcomed the Pacific Partnership 2012 as another means to expand partnership and cooperation with foreign nations. 

“The Pacific Partnership 2012 will come with a vast source of opportunities in building strong and stable relationships with our foreign partners,” said Dellosa.

“There will also be opportunities for our soldiers, particularly our engineers and reservists, to expand their knowledge with new approaches in the conduct of humanitarian, disaster response, community relations, and civic action programs that are important as we continue to innovate our preparations for the different tests and challenges that come our way,” Dellosa added.

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Ian Campo Flora | SunStar.Com.Ph | May 19, 2012 | Article Link