00:00As a nation's defense against any threat to security,
00:03it is important to train in military strength.
00:06This is part of the upcoming Balikatan exercise this year
00:10that is being prepared by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
00:14We will get more details on this and other issues
00:18from Colonel Franzel Margareth Padilla,
00:21the former spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
00:24Colonel Padilla, good afternoon to you. Welcome back.
00:26Good afternoon, Sir Joey and Ma'am Nguyen.
00:28And thank you for having us again today.
00:30Ma'am, in the upcoming Balikatan exercise this year,
00:33what does the full battle test mean,
00:35as mentioned by AFP Chief of Staff Romeo Browner, Jr.?
00:39Sir, when we say full battle test,
00:41we will look at what we have already laid out.
00:48We have techniques, tactics, and procedures
00:50that we will do into fruition.
00:53We will also use the equipment that we acquired
00:59from our modernization programs.
01:02We cannot just use it on the day.
01:06We need to know how to use it in actuality.
01:11So all the trainings, all the preparations
01:13will come into play and into fruition
01:16for the Balikatan exercises.
01:18Ma'am, how will AFP prepare the Balikatan exercises
01:22and what are the new plans and doctrines
01:24that will be tried this year?
01:26So basically, Ma'am, this is
01:28since the first Balikatan exercise was completed last year,
01:31the transition towards planning for this year
01:35started again.
01:36So last year was one of the biggest
01:38and it will be the same this year.
01:40So what we will look at is,
01:41as we have shifted our organization accordingly
01:45by creating the Cyber Command,
01:48these will also be our Balikatan exercises.
01:51We'll also exercise the kinetic and non-kinetic.
01:55So other than the physical equipment that we have,
01:59we also have our cyber exercises.
02:03So what we prepared there is the training,
02:05the skill sets of our people that we upgraded,
02:09and of course, the acquisition of all the equipment that is new.
02:12Ma'am, US Defense Secretary Pete Headset will be visiting.
02:16So how did this strengthen the relationship
02:18between the Philippines and the United States,
02:21especially when it comes to the issue in the West Philippine Sea?
02:24Well, Sir, this is something that the United States
02:27has been repeatedly mentioning,
02:28that their support for our country is ironclad.
02:32While we acknowledge this, Sir,
02:35aside from the Balikatan exercises,
02:37our exercises with other like-minded nations
02:41also and well-meaning nations.
02:43And over and above that,
02:44what we should highlight here
02:46is we're really also doing exercises
02:49to strengthen our own defense posture independently.
02:53So we did exercises on the sea, sky, and land.
02:57It's just us, right?
02:58Air Force, Army, and the Navy.
03:00And we'd like to believe also
03:01that this ironclad commitment of the US
03:05is also to allow us to be able to independently
03:08be able to defend ourselves.
03:10Ma'am, you mentioned the like-minded nations.
03:13So in Balikatan this year,
03:14Japan is participating, is that right?
03:17Yes, Sir, yes.
03:19As we strengthen alliances with like-minded nations
03:21and well-meaning nations,
03:22our alliances are expanding.
03:26So we have recently signed the RAA with Japan
03:28in July in 2024.
03:31And we have a VFA that is also in the works
03:34with Australia and with Canada.
03:36And we're looking at with the EU as well.
03:40So Ma'am, in the Northern Luzon Command
03:42and in the Western Command,
03:43there's a big role in protecting the West Philippines.
03:46What is the AFP doing now
03:48to strengthen these units?
03:51Here, Ma'am, we are strengthening all of our units.
03:54But this one facing the West Philippine Sea,
03:57there is our comprehensive archipelagic defense concept.
04:01So not only that, but all over the Philippines
04:04as an archipelagic nation.
04:06So here, this concept cascaded by the DND to the AFP,
04:11we have come up with the comprehensive
04:13archipelagic defense operations.
04:15So that is how we would be implementing it.
04:17So there are our EDCA sites,
04:20our facilities that are going to come into play.
04:23Our modernization projects are part of that.
04:25It also includes recruiting more personnel
04:28to add to our number of troops.
04:32And all others, trainings,
04:34and everything that is included there
04:36so that we can complete these operations.
04:39And over and above that,
04:40what we call here, in a nutshell,
04:43is solidarity.
04:46You mentioned earlier, Ma'am, the cyber exercises.
04:49So how are we preparing the new forms of warfare
04:53such as cyber warfare, information warfare,
04:58and cognitive warfare?
04:59Yes or no?
05:00So what we are looking at here,
05:01we are facing contemporary modern challenges.
05:04That is why the opposite of exercises
05:06will have kinetic and non-kinetic.
05:08So here, as you can see, in actuality,
05:12that is the spreading of fake news,
05:15misinformation, disinformation.
05:17So this forum that is being used here
05:20is the cyber domain.
05:21And the data and the information
05:26is the information warfare.
05:28So we are looking at the malign influence
05:30that is being used
05:32and how we are going to handle these situations.
05:35So it is good that every Filipino
05:40by us also educating them
05:42on how to distinguish
05:44and how we can be watched
05:46in these fake news.
05:47So we have a question from our media partner,
05:50Patrick Deesus of PTV.
05:52What can the AFP say
05:53in the statement of the Chinese Foreign Ministry
05:56that those who play with fire
05:58will burn themselves?
05:59Regarding General Browner's reminder
06:02to the soldiers in Nolcom
06:03on the 38th anniversary...
06:05It's not the 38th anniversary of Nolcom.
06:07This is not related to the Taiwan issue.
06:10Ma'am, this reminder of the AFP
06:14during his speech on the Nolcom anniversary
06:17is to remind our troops
06:22on the important role that they are playing
06:25since they are fronting also
06:26this West Philippine Sea.
06:28So what we are looking at there
06:29is the northern frontier.
06:31The Nolcom are the guardians
06:33of the northern frontier.
06:35So with that,
06:37it is not directed to any particular nation.
06:40And this increase of our defense posture
06:46is for us to modernize,
06:49to equip ourselves in any eventuality.
06:52So it's not just for defense
06:54but also for HADR,
06:56Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response.
06:58So this was the statement of our Chief of Staff.
07:01And this goes out to any unit
07:06that he goes to.
07:07That all of us should be very well prepared
07:10for any eventualities
07:12by having the right contingency plans
07:14that are going to be in place.
07:37I'm 38 years old.
07:39What's good to highlight here
07:42the intent of the Chief of Staff
07:43is to really remind our troops
07:46that all possibilities,
07:48we have to look into it.
07:50So more than the defense aspect,
07:52which is a given,
07:53that we really need to promote.
07:56We are having more alliances
07:58with like-minded nations.
07:59We are modernizing.
08:00We're equipping ourselves.
08:02We're training ourselves.
08:04And this is also the humanitarian aspect to it.
08:07So the humanitarian aspect, sir,
08:10is the NEO, as we call it,
08:12Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations.
08:16So if anything happens,
08:18just like what happened in Myanmar,
08:20you see, there are also the AFP assets
08:24and AFP personnel
08:25who are specialized to conduct these operations.
08:28But we do not do it alone.
08:30We are in tandem with this in Myanmar,
08:32with DOH,
08:33and we are the umbrella of OCD.
08:36So here too,
08:37in anything that will transpire
08:38in the northern frontier,
08:40it will also be a fusion of efforts
08:43from different agencies,
08:44whatever the situation
08:46that we will need to respond to.
08:48So if there is a crisis in Taiwan,
08:51do you have a concrete plan
08:54to mobilize the AFP
08:57to protect the OFWs there?
09:00Yes, ma'am.
09:01As while we do not disclose operational details,
09:06rest assured that we have
09:07the proper contingency plans
09:08that are in place
09:09in any eventuality.
09:11Thank you very much for joining us,
09:14Colonel Francel Padilla
09:16and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
09:19Thank you, ma'am.
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