00:00 They are among their nation's elite forces, the Naval Special Operations Command or NABSOCOM
00:06 of the Philippines and the Navy SEALs of the United States.
00:12 They're coming together for an annual joint exercise dubbed as Flash Piston.
00:18 The month-long Flash Piston will be held here in La Union, facing the West Philippine Sea.
00:24 Unlike other joint drills with the U.S., they involve elite forces of both militaries, thus
00:30 the sensitive nature of their combined activities.
00:34 Even when on training, there is very limited information these soldiers could share to
00:39 the public due to the nature of their assignment.
00:42 They operate in obscurity, nameless and faceless.
00:46 The U.S. Navy SEALs took down Al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden in 2011 and also took part
00:52 in U.S. campaigns in the Middle East.
00:54 The NAVSOCOM, on the other hand, figured prominently in operations in Mindanao, including going
00:59 after notorious Abu Sayyaf bandits.
01:02 "We increased the capacity of NAVSOCOM personnel in the fight against terrorism within the
01:09 Philippine borders, as well as nurture the existing ties and interoperability with our
01:15 U.S. Navy's Navy counterparts."
01:18 "To enhance our, with the guidance of our headquarters, to capacitate our capability
01:25 in terms of territorial defense operations."
01:29 Close to 800 troops from the Philippines and over a dozen countries, mostly from ASEAN,
01:34 are also taking part in the Pacific Airlift Rally.
01:37 It opened in Clark on Monday and will last for a week.
01:40 Pacific Airlift Rally aims to boost interoperability among regional allies, especially in responding
01:46 to disasters and other emergencies.
01:49 Exercise ALON also kicking off in Darwin, Australia this week.
01:53 This is the first ever bilateral amphibious exercise between the Philippines and Australia.
01:58 More than 2,000 troops, including from the U.S. Marines, are participating in Exercise
02:03 ALON.
02:04 From Australia, participants will fly and sail to the Philippines, where more combined
02:09 drills will be held.
02:11 From San Fernando City, David Santos, CNN Philippines.
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