LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte (PIA) -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States (US) Armed Forces conducted a counter-landing exercise at La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte on May 6, as part of the Balikatan Exercise 39-2024.

The counter-landing live-fire drill is a military strategy to deploy infantry and artillery defensive forces to deter hostile forces from entering the country’s borders. 

During the exercise scenario, about 200 soldiers used high-powered military assets including self-propelled howitzers, howitzers, caliber rifles, machine guns, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Multipurpose Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon Systems (MAAWS) against simulated foreign invaders to prevent their landing at the shore of La Paz.

They also sank floating pontoons which represented the invader’s landing ships trying to storm the beach.

The simulation was done through live virtual construct and utilized Airborne Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to track targets.

US Marines Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm, commanding general of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, emphasized that the drills aim to strengthen defense strategies and military interoperability of the two countries. 

“We don’t do this for any third-party and we don’t do this for messaging. We do this to create interoperability, readiness, integration on such capabilities and being able to command and control, set the battle space, deploy fires, move about, practice mobility, and all the things we planned for this exercise,” Cederholm said. 

Cederholm added that the Balikatan exercise serves as a demonstration of the strong military cooperation between the Philippines and the US which reaffirms their commitment to security and stability.

Moreover, Maj. Gen. Marvin N. Licudine, Balikatan Executive Director for Philippines, said they are conducting the exercise to enhance the Philippine military’s knowledge and capabilities in defending the country and its citizens. 

"On our part in the AFP, we have improved intellectually and raised the level of competence of our soldiers and officers leading our armed forces. Certainly, there are improvements now compared to last year and the past 38 years. We already talked with our partners here, General Cederholm, on how we will develop the next Balikatan exercises,” he said.

The Balikatan exercises in the province will culminate with a maritime strike drill on May 8 where the joint forces will attack a decommissioned Philippine navy ship at La Paz beach. (JCR/MJTAB/EJFG/KALGB, PIA Region 1-Ilocos Norte)