RP-US naval exercises start Tuesday

By Elena Aben

Manila Bulletin, Tuesday, June 28, 2011

MANILA, Philippines — The annual Philippines-US bilateral military exercises dubbed Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training or CARAT Philippines 2011, where some 800 American servicemen will join their Filipino counterparts, will kick off Tuesday at Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.

Three US Navy ships — guided missile destroyers USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) and USS Howard (DDG 83) and the diving and salvage ship USNS Safeguard (T-ARS 50) — will participate in CARAT Philippines 2011. The ships are the US Navy’s centerpieces for the exercise, which features 11 days of training exchanges between the two navies, both ashore and at sea.

The bilateral military exercise, which will take place starting Tuesday up to July 8, will be held at Puerto Princesa City and in the Sulu Sea.

CARAT is part of the two nations’ military cooperation under the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951 and is held every year.

Lt. Col. Omar Tonsay, Philippine Navy spokesman, said the main purpose of the activity is to strengthen the ties and cooperation between the two navies through the exchange of knowledge and skills in the field of navigation and naval operations, particularly maritime defense, port security, resource protection and disaster response.

Highlights of CARAT 2011 are personnel exchange for the effective commutation of information between the Philippine Navy (PN) and the US Navy (USN); friendship games; and PN-hosted and USN-hosted reception dinners to further strengthen the relationship between the two sides.

Civil military operations are also scheduled with the aim of reaching out to the residents of Palawan. These include the Medical and Dental Civic Action at Barangay Tagabinet; Engineering Civic Action at Barangay Mangingisda Elementary School; and Community Relation Activity at Tagburos Elementary School and Gregorio Oquendo Memorial Elementary School. A Community Service and Public Affairs activity is also set in the form of free music lessons at Palawan State University Laboratory High School and Palawan National School. To cap off the activity, there will be a free band concert by the Philippine Marine Corps and the US 7th Fleet Band at the Puerto Princesa City Ampitheater and at the NCCC Mall.

Tonsay said members of the US Navy are also scheduled to visit the Puerto Princesa Underground River, the city’s biggest and most popular tourist destination.

"This is an opportunity for the Naval Forces West, the city of Puerto Princesa and the province of Palawan to showcase its beauty and its natural resources," he added.

The Navy official further stated, “This exercise will certainly prove its worth as all aspects of naval operations are being integrated as the two navies further their interoperability.”

Capt. David Welch, Commander, Task Group 73.1 and the US commander for the exercise, meanwhile said, "The US and Philippine navies have a long history of working together, and exercises like CARAT provide a great venue for us to hone our skills and increase our interoperability."

mb.com.ph

Philippine-US navies unite amid China tensions

By Mynardo Macaraig

Maritime Security Asia, Tuesday, June 28, 2011

PUERTO PRINCESA, June 28, 2011 (AFP) – The Philippines and the United States will launch naval exercises on Tuesday close to the South China Sea, which is the focus of a simmering regional territorial row.

The longtime allies have emphasised the event is an annual one aimed at deepening defence ties, and not linked to rising concern in Manila about allegedly aggressive Chinese actions in the much coveted seas.

“The US and Philippine navies have a long history of working together, and exercises like (these) provide a great venue for us to hone our skills,” said the US commander for the 11-day exercises, Captain David Welch.

Nevertheless the exercises are being seen in Manila as a timely show of unity between the Philippines and its former colonial ruler.

Two state-of-the-art US missile destroyers, along with the host’s World War II-era warships, will patrol the Philippine waters of the Sulu Sea.

The Sulu Sea is separated from the South China Sea only by the narrow Philippine island of Palawan.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade.

Vietnam as well as the Philippines have in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claim to the disputed waters and its archipelagos.

In response, China has insisted it wants to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully but remained firm in its claims to most of the South China Sea, even waters within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile economic exclusion zone.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino this month called for US help in containing China’s South China Sea ambitions, saying his country was too weak to stand up to the Chinese alone.

Aquino made his plea after accusing China of inciting at least seven recent incidents in the disputed waters, including one in which a Chinese vessel allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen.

Aquino also accused China of breaking international law by entering the Philippines’ economic exclusion zone.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week offered the Philippines some comfort, pledging that the superpower ally would help to modernise the cash-strapped Philippine military.

“We are determined and committed to supporting the defence of the Philippines,” Clinton said.

No specifics were immediately announced but Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario later said the US government had vowed to boost the Philippines’ intelligence capabilities in the South China Sea.

The Philippine-US exercises, called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), officially begin at 3:00pm (0700 GMT) on Tuesday with an opening ceremony on Palawan island.

The first of the US vessels, the USS Chung-Hoon arrived at a pier in Palawan’s capital, Puerto Princesa, on Tuesday morning, greeted by a Philippine Navy band playing marching tunes.

US sailors in dress uniforms stood to attention as their vessel was guided into place by tugboats. The second destroyer, the USS Howard, will arrive later in the day said Lieutenant Commander Mike Morley, spokesman of the US forces.

About 800 US sailors and 450 Philippine seamen will be involved in the exercises.

The United States is scheduled to stage similar exercises with Vietnam next month, although it has insisted they too are unrelated to the South China Sea tensions.

maritimesecurity.asia

3 US Navy ships to join PHL-US war games in Palawan

GMAnews, Monday,July 27, 2011

Three United States Navy ships are expected to take part in this year's Philippine-US "Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training" (CARAT) bilateral exercises in Palawan.

A report by radio dzBB's Palawan affiliate Monday said the three ships will be the counterparts of Philippine vessels taking part in the exercise, which starts Tuesday.The same radio report by radio dzBB's James Viernes said the ships have arrived in Palawan.But Lt. Noel Cadigal, spokesperson for the Naval Forces West, said the US vessels — guided missile destroyers USS Chung Hoon and USS Howard and USNS Safeguard, a diving and salvage ship — will be arriving Tuesday morning.Cadigal identified the two participating Philippine Navy ships as BRP Pangasinan and BRP Rizal, both patrol ships. In Viernes' report, Western Command chief Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban reiterated that the bilateral exercises have nothing to do with the ongoing territorial row with China over the Spratly Islands.Sabban maintained that the CARAT exercises had been planned long ago, and should not be taken as a provocation of sorts, the dzBB report said.The Philippines and China, which had engaged in a word war of sorts following some incidents in the disputed area earlier this year, are two of six claimants to the Spratlys. The other claimants include Brunei, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Malaysia.Meanwhile, the Philippine Navy said its Naval Forces West and the US Pacific Fleet are all set for the CARAT 2011."The activity is part of the RP-US Defense Treaty of 1951 and is being executed every year," the Navy said in a news release posted on its website.It said the main purpose of the activity is to strengthen the ties and cooperation between the two Navies by the exchange of knowledge and skills in the field of navigation and naval operations, particularly maritime defense, port security, resource protection and disaster response.

gmanews.tv

Phl, US set maritime exercise in Palawan

Philippine Star, Monday, June 27, 2011

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines – Philippine and United States Navy will start tomorrow the annual bilateral maritime exercise here, the state media said today.

Dubbed as Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), the joint military exercise will be conducted at the height of the tension between the Philippines and China over the Spratlys row.

In an interview, Major Neil Anthony Estrella, spokesperson for the Western Command, said about 1,000 US sailors are expected to participate in the ashore and at-sea phases of the CARAT.

He also said that this year’s exercise promises to be meaningful and relevant for the two navies, and will further strengthen the relationship of the two countries.

He said two destroyer and one salvage ships are to be used by the United States Navy as their centerpieces for the exercise. The Philippines will utilize all the patrol ships deployed under the Naval Forces West.

Apart from the military exercise, there will also be symposia on search and rescue practices and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

CARAT is a series of bilateral military exercises between the United States Navy and the Naval Forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The exercise in Puerto Princesa City will end on July 4th.

philstar.com