JOLO, Philippines, 15 February 2007 — A ship yesterday unloaded tons of cargoes, including at least 32 trucks and equipment, in the southern island of Jolo as part of a joint US-Philippine exercise meant to win the “hearts and minds” of Muslims villagers.
Set to start on Feb. 18, the exercise dubbed Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) 2007, will involve thousands of American and Filipino soldiers, including medics and engineers who will conduct humanitarian projects in the provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and other Muslim provinces in the main southern island of Mindanao.
The first part of the drill, lasting until March 4, will be held in Jolo, the main island of Sulu, about 950 km south of Manila, where troops are hunting down members of the militant Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah groups, blamed for the string of bombings in the Philippines that had killed tens of dozens the past years.
This would be followed by exercises in the Tawi-Tawi island group near the border with Sabah, Malaysia, and later in central provinces of the main southern island of Mindanao.
US and Philippine troops would also embark on humanitarian missions, including infrastructure projects and medical outreach in poor Muslim areas during the exercises, said US Air Force Maj. John Redfield, spokesman of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines.
“The Balikatan is about to start and we have began transporting humanitarian equipment here in Jolo. There will be military trainings and humanitarian missions and both US and Filipino troops are eager to start,” he told Arab News.
The Balikatan demonstrates Washington’s resolve to continue the commitment to train, advice and assist the Philippine military to build capacity to counter terrorism, Redfield said.
It will also enhance the skills and capabilities of Filipino and American forces in combating terrorism and other internal and external security threats, and improve inter-operability between RP and US forces through the exchange of training skills and techniques.
The training is part of Washington's security assistance to the Philippines, a key US ally in Southeast Asia in the so-called global war on terrorism.
Southern Philippines military commander Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo said the Balikatan will benefit poor Muslims communities, especially in Sulu, one of the poorest provinces in the country.
“The Balikatan will bring peace and development and largely benefit poor Muslim areas through humanitarian mission; there will be new road construction, water wells in far-flung villages, schools and health centers and mosques and many more,” Cedo said.
Security was tight yesterday in Jolo. American and Filipino soldiers guarded the pier where a contracted barge unloaded trucks and ammunition.
Hundreds of local residents lined up the streets in downtown Jolo and waved as US and Philippine military convoys passed. Tricycles were spotted sporting small US flags tied to their radio antenna.
“We are really glad that the Americans are coming again. We can expect more medical assistance,” Anam Usman, a passenger jeep driver, said. “We like them here so we put an end to the Abu Sayyaf terrorism."
The Abu Sayyaf had previously threatened to attack US targets and had murdered two American citizens kidnapped in the Philippines. They also killed an American soldier participating in antiterrorism drill in a bomb attack in Zamboanga City in 2002.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as mch as $10 million bounty for two known Jemaah Islamiyah bombers, Dulmatin and Umar Patek, now being protected by the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo’s jungle.
Both Dulmatin and Patek were tagged as behind the 2002 Bali boimbings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
