A Philippine Navy personnel stands guard during the arrival of missile destroyer USS Chung Hoon ahead of the Philippine-US joint naval military exercises near the disputed Spratly Islands on Tuesday.MANILA, Philippines - A Marine was killed when the motorcycle he was riding hit the rear of a six-wheeler truck in Pasig City yesterday.
Private First Class Joel Ramirez, 31, a resident of Tipas, Taguig City, sustained head and body injuries. Doctors declared him dead on arrival at the Rizal Medical Center.
Police said Ramirez was on his way home when he lost control of his motorcycle (1386 NO) at the corner of Elisco and Villa Concio streets in Barangay San Joaquin at about 12:20 a.m. yesterday.
A Philippine Navy contingent left for Brunei Darussalam yesterday to join the fleet review in the Brunei International Defense Exhibition (BRIDEX) Conference 2011, a premier defense and security event in Southeast Asia.
The 3rd BRIDEX will be also be attended by navy units from Pakistan, Brunei, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.
They will conduct a traditional fleet review on July 2 as a highlight of the event.
Navy flag officer in command, Vice Admiral Alexander P. Pama, said "this activity will enable the crew of the two patrol vessels and the members of the organized task group to gain insights and appreciation on technology advancements and industry developments particularly on defense warfare."
Codenamed BRIDEX 2011, the fleet review will be participated in by navy men from the Jacinto class patrol vessel BRP Apolinario Mabini and the Cyclone class BRP Gen Mariano Alvarez.
The Fleet-Marine Ready Force (FMRF) will be designated as the unit primarily responsible for the activity and all designated navy vessels will be under the operational control of the FMRF commander for the duration of the activity.
A send-off ceremony for the contingent was held at the FMRF Landing in Sangley Point, Cavite.
BRIDEX brings together the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of defense and security equipment and systems from across the entire supply chain, and high-level international government and defense and security officials.
The exhibit exclusively showcases the latest, innovative and value-enhancing technology solutions in land, sea, air and security systems to address the wide spectrum of security challenges being faced by countries in the region and around the world.
It aims to provide an excellent platform for building vital alliances, forging partnerships and capturing new business opportunities in the region, as well as for networking, sharing ideas and knowledge, discussing technology advancements and industry developments.
The Philippine contingent is composed of the crew of the participating ships from the Naval Education and Training Command, Fleet Training Center, Philippine Navy Auxiliary Reserve Unit, Naval Modernization Office, Naval Doctrines Office, and the Naval Special Operations Group.
A medical team from the Manila Naval Hospital also joined the contingent to provide medical assistance to the contingent.
Two state-of-the-art U.S. missile destroyers sailed into Philippine waters to kick-start the 11 days of training, which will take place close to the much-coveted South China Sea that is the focus of the regional tensions.
Both sides emphasized the event was an annual one aimed at deepening defense ties, and not linked to the rising concern in Manila about allegedly aggressive Chinese actions in the strategic and potentially resource-rich South China Sea.
“The Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) operation was planned in advance ... the issue in the South China Sea started in February,” Philippine Navy vice-commander Rear Admiral Orwen Cortez said at an opening ceremony for the event, referring to it by its acronym.
“CARAT has nothing to do with the issue.”
Nevertheless, the exercises were portrayed as a show of unity between the Philippines and its former colonial ruler.
“The U.S. and the Philippines are allies and that is the strongest and most enduring commitment the two nations can make,” the commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Scott Van Buskirk, said at the opening ceremony.
“Our alliance is underpinned by a deep and abiding U.S. interest in the freedom and security of the Republic of the Philippines.”
Philippine President Benigno Aquino this month called for U.S. 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 to the United States 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' 200-nautical-mile economic exclusion zone.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week offered the Philippines' some comfort, pledging that the superpower would help to modernize the cash-strapped Philippine military.
“We are determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines,” vowed Clinton.
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' economic exclusion zone.
Tuesday's opening ceremony for the naval exercises took place at a military base in Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan, a narrow island that divides the South China Sea to the west and the Sulu Sea in the east.
The exercises will take place in the Sulu Sea.
About 800 U.S. sailors will be involved, as well as the two guided missile destroyers and a salvage ship. They will join a Philippine fleet of mainly World War II-era ships.
