ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 23 Jan) – Philippine and American soldiers are to start a large-scale joint military exercises on the strife-torn island of Jolo, south of Manila, where Filipino security forces are battling members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and Jemaah Islamiya.
The annual war games, dubbed as Balikatan 2007, which means “shoulder-to-shoulder,” will begin on February 18 until March 4, the U.S. Embassy said on Tuesday.
Last week, Filipino troops, guided by U.S. military intelligence, raided an Abu Sayyaf hideout on Bud Dajo (also called Mount Daho) in Jolo’s Talipao town and killed a senior militant leader, Jainal Antel Sali, Jr. alias Abu Solaiman.
Both the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya are included in the U.S. list of international terrorist organizations, blamed for the kidnappings of foreigners and spate of bombings in the Philippines and Indonesia.
The exercise will also focus on humanitarian projects in Mindanao, especially on Jolo.
U.S. Navy ship visits and a joint or combined exchange training exercise will also take place in several locations in the Philippines during Balikatan 2007.
Philippine and U.S. military officials did not how many soldiers or vessels or aircrafts would be involved in the war games. Several hundreds U.S. troops are deployed in Filipino military bases the Zamboanga Peninsula, the Sulu Archipelago and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao where they advice and assist local troops in fighting terrorism.
The Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya are both in the U.S. list of international terrorist organizations, blamed for the kidnappings of foreigners and spate of bombings in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Southern Philippines military commander Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo said two Jemaah Islamiya bombers, Dulmatin and Umar Patek, are hiding in Jolo and being protected by the Abu Sayyaf, whose chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani was killed in a clash with troops in September. (Mindanao Examiner)
Showing posts with label War Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label War Games. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
After Getting Back Convicted American Soldier, U.S. Resumes War Games With Philippines
MANILA (Mindanao Examiner/ 02 Jan) - The United States Embassy in Manila on Tuesday announced the resumption of suspended joint war exercise with the Philippines, four days after an American soldier convicted of raping a Filipino woman, was handed to U.S. authorities.
American marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith had been transfered to U.S military custody late Friday after Filipino government officials whisked him away from the Makati City jail.
A local court ordered Smith locked up in jail Dec. 4 after he was found guilty of raping the 23-year old woman last year in Olongapo City.
"We look forward to resuming the Balikatan," said U.S. Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop. "Balikatan should move forward now that the custody issue is resolved," he said.
The U.S. military announced Dec. 22 that suspension of the war games after Judge Benjamin Pozon, of the Makati Regional Trial Court, denied a petition by Smith’s lawyers to transfer him to the U.S. Embassy.
Lussenhop said they were also disappointed by the suspension of the Balikatan, which means shoulder-to-shoulder, the codename for the annual joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.
"We're disappointed with the cancellation of the Balikatan as well. We did not raise any issue about the (court's) verdict, but the custody issue," Lussenhop said.
Filipino activists on Tuesday also burned a U.S. flag while marching in Manila to protest Smith's transfer to U.S. authorities.
Dozens of protesters from the militant group called KAISA-KA torched the flag as they marched along the busy Manila road, T.M Kalaw.
The U.S. Embassy said the transfer of Smith to U.S. authority is consistent with the terms of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), an international bilateral agreement that is binding on both the United States and the Philippines.
U.S. officials said Article V, Paragraph 6 of the Visiting Forces Agreement specifies: “That custody of any United States personnel over whom the Philippines is to exercise jurisdiction shall immediately reside with the United States military authorities, if they so request, from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings.”
They said that Smith is not a private citizen, and therefore the handling of his case is subject to the terms of the VFA.
Philippine Interior Secy. Ronaldo Puno on Tuesday defended Smith’s trasnfer to U.S. authorities, saying, the government was just adhering to the provisions of the VFA. “There is nothing illegal here. We are just following what is stipulated in the VFA,” he said.
Lawyers supporting the woman raped by Smith said they would file criminal charges against those responsible in the trasfer of the soldier to U.S. authorities. (Mindanao Examiner)
American marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith had been transfered to U.S military custody late Friday after Filipino government officials whisked him away from the Makati City jail.
A local court ordered Smith locked up in jail Dec. 4 after he was found guilty of raping the 23-year old woman last year in Olongapo City.
"We look forward to resuming the Balikatan," said U.S. Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop. "Balikatan should move forward now that the custody issue is resolved," he said.
The U.S. military announced Dec. 22 that suspension of the war games after Judge Benjamin Pozon, of the Makati Regional Trial Court, denied a petition by Smith’s lawyers to transfer him to the U.S. Embassy.
Lussenhop said they were also disappointed by the suspension of the Balikatan, which means shoulder-to-shoulder, the codename for the annual joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.
"We're disappointed with the cancellation of the Balikatan as well. We did not raise any issue about the (court's) verdict, but the custody issue," Lussenhop said.
Filipino activists on Tuesday also burned a U.S. flag while marching in Manila to protest Smith's transfer to U.S. authorities.
Dozens of protesters from the militant group called KAISA-KA torched the flag as they marched along the busy Manila road, T.M Kalaw.
The U.S. Embassy said the transfer of Smith to U.S. authority is consistent with the terms of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), an international bilateral agreement that is binding on both the United States and the Philippines.
U.S. officials said Article V, Paragraph 6 of the Visiting Forces Agreement specifies: “That custody of any United States personnel over whom the Philippines is to exercise jurisdiction shall immediately reside with the United States military authorities, if they so request, from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings.”
They said that Smith is not a private citizen, and therefore the handling of his case is subject to the terms of the VFA.
Philippine Interior Secy. Ronaldo Puno on Tuesday defended Smith’s trasnfer to U.S. authorities, saying, the government was just adhering to the provisions of the VFA. “There is nothing illegal here. We are just following what is stipulated in the VFA,” he said.
Lawyers supporting the woman raped by Smith said they would file criminal charges against those responsible in the trasfer of the soldier to U.S. authorities. (Mindanao Examiner)
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