AMPHIBIOUS RAID EXERCISE. The Philippines and US forces hold amphibious raid exercises at the at the beachhead of Barangay Samariñana in Brooke’s Point, Palawan on April 14, 2023. This year’s “Balikatan” started April 11 and is scheduled to end on April 28. (Photo courtesy of Naval Forces West)
MANILA – Naval Forces West (NFW) has announced that joint Philippines and US forces on April 14 have successfully conducted the amphibious raid exercise of this year’s “Balikatan” in Palawan.
In a statement Saturday, NFW chief Commodore Alan M. Javier said the exercise was done at the beachhead of Barangay Samariñana in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.
“Following the arrival of the surface assets in Palawan (on April 14) an amphibious raid exercise was performed at the beachhead of Barangay Samariñana, Brooke’s Point, Palawan,” he added.
This Fleet-Marine capability was showcased by different units, namely: BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), BRP Tarlac (LD-601), amphibious assault vehicles, marine amphibious ready unit and marine Reservists.
The US forces, meanwhile, employed their force reconnaissance platoon.
“Amphibious raids are usually performed against the enemy. It is accomplished by employing a special force into an area that is controlled by enemy forces. Amphibious raids are commonly quick and swift leaving minimal footprints on the ground,” Javier said.
The successful conduct of the amphibious raid in the “Balikatan” 38-23 reinforces the Philippine Navy’s commitment in ensuring national sovereignty, security and stability.
This year’s “Balikatan” started April 11 and is set to end on April 28.
Anti-tank live-fire with US forces
Meanwhile, the Philippine Army (PA) said it successfully executed the Javelin anti-tank weapon system live-fire exercise with the US Army and US Marines forces as part of the introductory activities of the Balikatan 38-23 at Range 2, Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija last April 13.
“The US Army, US Marines, and PA troops fired five missiles which are facilitated by the anti-tank trainers during the simulation of the combat scenario, a part of the 38th iteration of ‘Balikatan’,” Army spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement Saturday.
“The PA soldiers applied the skills they learned through lectures and simulation exercises, especially during the Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE) of the recently-concluded ‘Salaknib’ 2023 Phase 1. The Army troops showed their tactical skills, accuracy, and confidence in using the Javelin weapon which could be one of the integral armaments of the PA’s future arsenal,” he added.
Meanwhile, PA chief Lt. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr., who witnessed the exercise with United States Army Pacific commander Gen. Charles A. Flynn, applauded the smooth execution of the exercise.
“By sustaining the build-up and expansion of our areas of collaboration, we can achieve our shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region,” he added.
Brawner also stressed that the exercise allowed the PA troops to deal with the real-time experience and to observe how the weapon works and reacts in the environment, particularly in an actual warfare setting.
”What you see here with ‘Balikatan’ and ‘Salaknib’ is an expression of us trying to commit to enabling and assisting the Philippine military (in) being able to protect their national sovereignty and protect the territorial integrity of the Philippines,” Flynn noted.
