U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Charge d’Affaires John Law, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana, and senior Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command representatives participate in the closing ceremony of the Balikatan Exercise. (Photos by SN1 Donald Viluan PN/PAOAFP)
QUEZON CITY, Apr. 25 Service members from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and United States Armed Forces concluded the 36th iteration of Balikatan Exercise on Friday, April 23 with a small ceremony held at the General Headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
“The successful conduct of this year’s Balikatan Exercise 36-2021 has definitely brought us a step closer towards our goal of capacitating our forces, and as such, will consequently contribute to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific Region,” said AFP Chief of Staff General Cirilito Sobejana.
The 36th iteration of the annual “Balikatan” exercises between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US military formally started on Monday
Amid the brewing tension in the West Philippine Sea following the massing of Chinese vessels in Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef), the United States on Monday assured that it will continue to seek ways to strengthen its security cooperation with the Philippines.
US Charge d’Affaires John Law made
Published April 12, 2021, 4:32 PM
Not even the dangers posed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic could stop the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States military from holding the 36th iteration of the “Balikatan” Exercise as it officially kicked off the joint drills on Monday, April 12, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
AFP Chief of Staff General Cirilito Sobejana declares the official start of the scaled down 36th Balikatan Exercise on 12 April 2021 at the General Headquarters Canopy Area in Camp Aguinaldo (AFP)
General Cirilito Sobejana, AFP Chief of Staff, declared the opening of Balikatan which came at a time when China further tightened its grip in the South China Sea by building artificial islands and turning them into military bases, including some features located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
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