Balikatan 2006 To Begin In Jolo Island

A Filipino soldier guards Jolo island in the southern Philippines. U.S. and RP troops are to start new anti-terror training on the island. (Zamboanga Journal)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 03 Jan) -- Filipino and American troops are to begin new joint anti-terror training exercises in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, a known stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, local security officials said Tuesday.

Officials said the training is expected to start next month and would involve infantry and marine troops from both countries. Security would be tight during the exercises to protect the soldiers against possible attacks by Abu Sayyaf militants.

The Abu Sayyaf previously threatened to attack US targets in the Philippines, and had killed three Americans, including a soldier, in Zamboanga City.

"The training is part of the US security assistance to Manila, and it is being held every year. Aside from the joint training, there will also be some humanitarian mission in Jolo. The civic actions will surely benefit many poor families on the island," said Filipino military spokesman Maj. Gamal Hayudini, of the Southern Command based in Zamboanga City.

He said U.S. and Filipino troops are also to build infrastructure projects in Jolo. "Jolo will benefit from this joint training exercises and it will also help the local economy and provide jobs to many people," he said.

Many Filipinos are strongly supporting the presence of U.S. soldiers in Jolo, about 950 kms south of Manila. Dozens of U.S. troops are already on the island and have been actively involved in humanitarian mission.

A group of U.S. military officers joined Filipino officials on Tuesday that met with Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Edilberto during the traditional New Year's call in Zamboanga City.

This year's joint training exercise, dubbed as Balikatan (which means shoulder-to-shoulder) 2006, is the 22nd in a series that began in 1981.

The exercise, consistent with the Mutual Defense Treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement, will improve combined planning of the United States and Philippine military forces. It is one of many ongoing activities under the framework of RP-U.S. military security cooperation.

The Balikatan 2006 demonstrates Washington's resolve to continue the commitment to train, advise and assist the Philippine military to build capacity to counter terrorism.

The training program, officials said, includes support for comprehensive defense reform; security assistance modules for counter-terrorism training; operations intelligence fusion; and aspects in education programs, logistics, engineering, equipment, maintenance and helicopter programs.

Hayudini said the joint training exercises will enhance the skills and capabilities of Filipino and American forces in combating terrorism and other internal and external security threats.

And also improve "inter-operability" between RP and US forces through the exchange of training skills and techniques; and will also upgrade the knowledge, skills and equipment of Armed Forces of the Philippines.

But he was quick to say that the U.S. soldiers will not be allowed to join any combat operation against the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo.

"The Americans are prohibited to directly participate in anti-Abu Sayyaf or combat operations in Jolo," Hayudini said.

The Constitution forbids foreign troops from conducting military operations in the Philippines. Hayudini, however, said U.S. troops may defend themselves in case of an attack.

In Balikatan 2002, U.S. special operations forces trained more than 1,000 Filipino soldiers going after Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan island. U.S. civil affairs forces also worked with local troops to build roads, dig wells and provide medical service on the island, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.

The Philippines is a strong ally of the United States and also a stalwart foe of terrorism worldwide and within its borders.

The U.S. Department of Treasury recently added three known Abu Sayyaf leaders Jainal Antel Sali Jr., Radulan Sahiron and Isnilon Hapilon on its list of terrorists and froze its assets abroad.

It said the trio were designated for their roles in brutal acts of terrorism, involving kidnapping of U.S. and foreign citizens and bombing civilian targets in the Philippines.

Washington ordered a freeze on assets the three Abu Sayyaf leaders may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits any transactions. The Department of State's Rewards for Justice Campaign, has offered to pay up to $90,000 for the capture of Abu Sayyaf members.

The reward is on top of the $200,000 the Department of Defense's U.S. Pacific Command has offered for the arrest of known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani.

President Gloria Arroyo offered as much as P100 million rewards for the capture dead or alive of any senior leaders of the Abu Sayyaf and their lieutenants.

The U.S. tagged Sali, alias Abu Soliman, now the spokesman for the Abu Sayyaf as mastermind in the spate of bomb attacks in Zamboanga City since 2002 that killed many civilians civilians, including an American soldier who was participating in a joint anti-terror war games.

Sali was also implicated in the 2001 Dos Palmas resort kidnappings of 17 Filipinos and three U.S. citizens and two of them were later killed and decapitated.

He was also said to have met with senior Jemaah Islamiya militants suspected of playing a role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people.

While Sahiron, based in Jolo island, has been linked to the series of terrorism and killings and kidnappings in the southern Philippines. He was tagged as one of those who raided the Sipadan island resort in Malaysia in 2000 and kidnapped 21 mostly Asian and Western holiday-makers. And also numerous attacks on foreign ships and kidnappings of many Indonesian and Malaysian sailors near Jolo.

Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization.