PHILIPPINE military forces on Wednesday established beachhead and “seized control” of one of the islands in the disputed West Philippine Sea as part of the ongoing DAGIT-PA (Dagat, Langit, Lupa) exercises by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., witnessed the simulated takeover of Kota Island, saying the drill serves as a warning to potential foreign aggressors that the military is capable of defending the country’s sovereign territory.
The 12-day AFP Joint Exercise DAGIT-PA involves some 3,000 Filipino soldiers and key assets of the Navy, Air Force and the Army.
During Wednesday’s exercise, Kota Island was supposedly seized by enemy forces, prompting Philippine Navy and Air Force troops to launch operations to retake the island.
The 10.9-hectare Kota Island is about 190 nautical from Rizal, Palawan, and among the nine features occupied by Filipino troops in the West Philippine Sea.
“What we did today is island seizure exercise and island defense … We’ve witnessed how effective is the inter-operability of our Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy and our special operations forces,” said Brawner.
A Philippine Air Force plane dropped supplies to the troops who Brawner said were “very successful in retaking or seizing the island” during the drill.
“This is not the first time that we conducted this kind of exercise, the island seizure exercise. But this is the first time that we conducted this at Kota Island… We are warning our neighbors or external forces that we are capable of defending our islands … In case something happens, external forces enter our territory or sovereign areas, we need to defend our nation on our own before we ask help from other countries like our allies and our partners,” he said.
Several Chinese Navy and militia vessels were sighted near the area during the exercise, but showed no attempts to interfere.
“We were expecting it. They watched what we were doing. As I said, this is the first time we held it (island retaking exercise) here. It seems they were curious about what we’re doing but we welcome that, it adds realism to the exercise,” Brawner noted.
AFP Western Command chief Vice Admiral Alfonso Torres Jr. also said the exercise was meant to test the interoperability of AFP units.
“It is very crucial for us to enhance of course, our capability right here in the West Philippine Sea … for us to show our firm resolve of defending our sovereignty and sovereign rights,” said Torres.
Manila Standard sought comments from AFP whether the simulation was part of preparation for actual combat against any foreign adversaries, but no response as of writing.
Army troops meanwhile, also conducted defensive operations as part of the ongoing AJEX DAGITPA at the La Paz sand dunes in Ilocos Norte last Nov. 6.
The eighth iteration of this exercise simulated the military’s territorial defense plan Oplan called “Bantay Kalayaan.
Army soldiers will work side-by-side with training participants from various major services in Joint Military Operations, Counter Landing Operations, and Special Forces Operations.
The exercise integrates the Navy, Air Force, Army, and Special Operations Forces to level up capabilities in joint operations. It also focuses on capability development training to enhance military tactics, techniques, and procedures across a wide range of operations.
This joint exercise aims to capacitate troops for the implementation of the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept and enhance the AFP’s responsiveness towards territorial defense, according to PA spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala.
