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Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Marines, Army deploying missile systems to Luzon Strait
Marine Corps and Army missile systems are set to deploy to a key chokepoint in the Philippine Island chains for anti-ship drills during the military exercise known as KAMANDAG. The unmanned, anti-ship Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, and the Army's High Mobility Rocket Artillery System will feature prominently in the exercise with their emplacement between Luzon and Taiwan, U.S. Naval Institute reported. The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment's NMESIS is heading to Batanes, the northernmost portion of Philippine territory. The platform first reached the island of Basco and Batan for Balikatan 2025, a maritime security exercise. This unit will be the next to field the ship-killing missile system That was the first time the Marines deployed the anti-ship missile to the Luzon Strait. 'The insertion of the NMESIS on Batan during Exercise Balikatan 25's MKTSO was an achievement of a major milestone not just for 3rd MLR, but for the entire U.S. Marine Corps enterprise, signifying advancements in the service's equipment fielding to employment timelines,' said Col. John G. Lehane, commanding officer of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment. 'In a matter of months, the NMESIS went from an experimental asset undergoing the rigorous initial operational testing and evaluation spearheaded by Marine Corps Systems Command and the program office, to a fully fielded weapon system capable of neutralizing the threat of adversarial vessels in contested littoral zones.' Marine Rotational Force-Darwin will conduct corps-level command and control. The 3rd MLR will deploy their missile battery to Batanes using KC-130J transport aircraft, USNI reported. 'KAMANDAG 9 is a clear demonstration of the strength of the U.S.-Philippine alliance and our ironclad commitment to regional security and combined readiness,' said Col. Jason C. Armas, commanding officer of the MRF-D 25.3 MAGTF. 'Training shoulder to shoulder with our Philippine Marine Corps partners isn't just about building interoperability — it's about forging trust in the crucible of shared hardship and preparing together to respond with speed and precision to any crisis, anywhere, anytime.' The exercise is scheduled to run from May 26 to June 6 and will take place across the Philippine archipelago, including Luzon, Batanes, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan, according to a release. Training events include maritime key terrain security operations, defensive counter-landing live-fire drills, littoral maneuver, amphibious operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, according to the release. Japanese and Korean forces are scheduled to conduct amphibious drills in the province of Palawan, which faces the South China Sea, a key area of control for any potential conflict with Beijing. The Army HIMARs will be transported by the Armed Forces of the Philippines alongside the Marine anti-ship systems. The service deployed the launchers during Balikatan 2024. The missile units will rehearse maritime strikes in the Luzon Strait. Those systems can cover the 250-kilometer-wide strait through fires and sensors, USNI reported. The 3rd MLR used a network of ground-based sensors and drones across Batanes and the Babuyan Islands during previous exercises. Those operations included the Philippine territory of Mavulis, less than 90 miles from Taiwan.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hawaii troops forge alliances in Philippines
RELATED PHOTO GALLERY APARRI, PHILIPPINES—Last week the annual Exercise Balikatan—Tagalog for 'shoulder to shoulder '—officially wrapped up in the Philippines. The 40th iteration of the military exercise brought in service members from the U.S. as well as troops from Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and Canada. Among them were troops from Hawaii-based units. 'Brings back memories, ' said Cpl. Justin Caluya, a member of the Kaneohe-based 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment who was born in the Philippine province of Ilocos Norte. Caluya was one of several Filipino Americans participating in the exercise who did double duty working as an impromptu interpreter helping bridge linguistic and cultural gaps. 'I've been here seven times, so I have a little bit of knowledge of the area, and it's always great to keep coming back and be able to train with everyone, ' said Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Mark Zyble. 'It's always good to be able to integrate with other cultures—that's part of the reason of why I joined—and being able to work with partner forces and understand how other militaries are involved is just something that not many people might get to do.' Zyble said he feels a special connection to the Philippines. Back in Hawaii he lives in Ewa Beach with his wife in a home close to his Filipino in-laws, including his wife's grandmother from Ilocos Norte. He originally joined the Corps as a combat engineer but is now a member of the 3rd MLR's Civil Affairs team, which is tasked with outreach to civilian government agencies and community groups to gain their trust. Zyble said that in meetings with municipal and provincial leaders, 'what we're trying to do is just give us that placement and access so that we have good relations with those in the civil environment.' The 3rd MLR and members of the Army's Schofield Barracks-based 25th Infantry Division participated in Balikatan along with several other U.S. military units based in Japan and the West Coast. The exercise has grown much larger in recent years, especially as the Philippine military has shifted its focus from 'internal defense '—fighting rebels and insurgent groups—to 'external defense ' operations focused on protecting its coastlines and island territories. 'This is a grand departure from the Balikatan exercises that I was first involved with, beginning in 2017, ' said Philippine army Brig. Gen. Michael Logico. 'Back then we were doing small-unit operations purely at the tactical level … but now we have elevated it to the joint and combined level so where what you're looking at is integration of not only infantry, but also combined arms operations.' This year, that included everything from artillery, warships, aircraft, drone and missiles. U.S. troops trained around the country, using several new weapons for the first time in several locations. Participants in the exercise held live-fire training on the island of Palawan and the western coastal province of Zambales looking out into the South China Sea and on the northern coast of Cagayan province near the town of Aparri looking north toward Taiwan. International military observers In addition to those who came to train, the exercise brought international military observers to watch from Brunei, the Czech Republic, Germany, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. As forces participating in Balikatan trained, the Chinese military also trained nearby, including sending its aircraft carrier Shandong into waters claimed by the Philippines and carrying out flight deck operations about 123 nautical miles off the coast of Ilocos Norte on April 25. The next week, the Chinese military began a new naval patrol in the South China Sea and released a statement asserting that 'the Philippines has been frequently carrying out maritime infringement provocations, creating disturbances and pulling in countries from outside the region.' Back in Hawaii, top military brass and diplomats watched the Philippines from afar and took notes. At the same time, groups in Hawaii opposed to the exercise also watched closely and held their own events. On May 4 the Hawai 'i Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines and Anakbayan Hawai 'i, a Filipino youth and student group, held a webinar condemning U.S. involvement in the Philippines. Anakbayan Hawai 'i said in a statement that it 'strongly condemns the increasing presence of the United States military in the Philippines. This not only includes the increasing size of the Balikatan exercises, but also the addition and regularization of other military trainings between the U.S. and the Armed Forces of the Philippines that put the Filipino people at risk.' Richard Rothschiller of the HiCHRP told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement that the group 'is alarmed by the accelerating increase in the size of exercise Balikatan and other military engagements, including the use of Philippine military bases by the U.S. and more frequent port calls by the U.S. and other foreign navies in Subic Bay.' Rothschiller asserted that 'the U.S. seeks to make the Philippines a co-combatant by goading it to confront China. This year's annual joint U.S.-Philippines Balikatan exercises expanded even farther toward Taiwan than in previous years.' The exercise comes not long after the return of President Donald Trump to the White House after he won the 2024 election and a Pacific tour in March by his new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that included stops in Hawaii, Guam, Japan and the Philippines. The Trump administration has expressed skepticism of alliances and openly embraced a more transactional approach to foreign policy. But Hegseth pledged during his stop in the Philippines—with which the U.S. has a mutual defense treaty—that alliance would stay strong. Filipinos went to the polls this week in their own midterm election. A senior Philippine marine officer told the Star-Advertiser that 'we need to further improve ourselves, because the security environment is continuously evolving, and we need to also nurture our relationship since we are both democratic countries. … Democratic countries change their leadership, so we need to always reinforce our relationship. Policy changes as leadership changes.' South China Sea tensions The South China Sea—a busy waterway that nearly one-third of all global trade travels through—has become increasingly militarized over the past decade. Beijing claims nearly the entire sea as its exclusive territory over the objections of neighboring countries, and tensions have been mounting over territorial and navigation rights. In 2016 an international court ruled in favor of the Philippines and found that China's claims have 'no legal ' basis. Beijing rejected the ruling and has doubled down by building bases on disputed islands and reefs. The Chinese military has also harassed and sometimes attacked fishermen and other marine workers from neighboring countries—especially the Philippines. Tensions have also ramped up as China has also stepped up military operations around Taiwan, a self-ruled island democracy that Beijing regards as a rogue province. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to bring Taiwan under Beijing's control, by force if necessary. On April 1 the Philippine military's top commander, Gen. Romeo Brawner, courted controversy when he told troops in the northern tip of the country to 'start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan.' Brawner, an alumnus of the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Waikiki, asserted in his remarks to his troops that 'if something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved. There are 250, 000 (overseas Filipino workers ) working in Taiwan, and we will have to rescue them. And it will be the task of Northern Luzon Command to be at the front line of that operation.' This year the Luzon Strait was a major focus of exercise Balikatan. U.S. and Philippine troops trained in the northernmost province of Batanes—a small island chain just south of Taiwan—and the 3rd MLR brought its brand-new NMESIS anti-ship missile system. Col. John Lehane, the 3rd MLR's commander, said that it's a key strategic area, noting that 'the Bashi Channel, the Luzon Strait runs through there, so all the world's key waterways kind of cut through.' It's not the first time Balikatan has brought U.S. troops to Batanes ; they've come at least three times prior. In 2024, German Caccam, mayor of the provincial capital, Basco, told Radio Free Asia that many residents welcome Exercise Balikatan 'because it makes us feel more secure, ' but also told the outlet, 'However, as the mayor of Basco, I am not so amenable with the presence of foreign forces, especially the U.S., because that will make us a target.' 'Untraditional training areas' A senior Philippine marine officer told the Star-Advertiser that during this year's Balikatan 'we were able to execute our counterlanding and live-fire exercises in areas which I think would be the most probable areas that this kind of conflict might arise.' Logico said that this year there was a shift toward 'untraditional training areas, ' taking troops from the bases and training ranges they're used to. He said, 'We have learned from these traditional training locations. So now for us to take a step further, we have to look for areas that we are unaccustomed to, and these are one of the areas we have to make us get used to training in these locations.' This year also included use of moving targets as troops shot drones out of the sky and pounded floating targets in the ocean with airstrikes and artillery. Logico said, 'That is something that we have never used before, so that adds a element of realism. We are not shooting at the stationary targets.' But for some Filipinos it was nerve-wracking. When the Star-Advertiser joined a group of Philippine troops for lunch at a restaurant in Aparri during the exercise, the owner nervously asked them if they were there because a war was about to break out. They assured him it was an annual exercise and that it was nothing to worry about. Col. Xerxes Trinidad, spokesman for the Philippine military, told the Star-Advertiser that this year various groups spread rumors about the exercise to stoke fears, and insisted that the Philippine military had been working to keep local governments and organizations informed of the exercise and where training was taking place. Sgt. Jon Rafus, an infantryman with the 3rd MLR who took part in the live-fire exercise in Aparri, said, 'If we have to go forward into into the next fight up north, on the the island chain, I think it's absolutely critical that we are here doing this (training ) with the (Philippine marines ), with the Philippine air force, with the Philippine army, working in tandem. Because we all have the same goals in mind, right ? Keeping all this land over here free and making sure certain people aren't encroaching where they don't need to be.'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hawaii Marines field new weapons in the Philippines
SUBIC BAY, Philippines — A unit of Hawaii Marines is in the Philippines fielding new weapons for the first time amid simmering tensions with China. The Kaneohe-based 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, which is in the country for the annual Exercise Balikatan, sent its new Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System—better known as the NMESIS—on Saturday to the northern Batanes Islands in the Luzon Strait, just south of Taiwan. Formerly the 3rd Marine Regiment, the unit officially re-designated as the 3rd MLR in 2022 and is the Marine Corps's first littoral regiment, part of the service's Force Design 2030. It's an effort to bring the Marines back to their roots as a naval fighting force focused on island and coastal fighting. The 3rd MLR is serving as the model for the Corps' facelift, and NMESIS, an anti-ship missile system, plays a central role in that vision. Col. John Lehane, the 3rd MLR's commander, said, 'One of the things we looked at is, if you can control choke points, then you control the commerce that goes through them. And so any place where you find key maritime terrain like that, that's a suitable place to put a weapon system like that. So it's great rehearsal for us and great to help us integrate with what the Filipinos want to do for their archipelagic coastal defense concept.' The unit has deployed to the Philippines for each iteration of Balikatan since 2022, but this is the first time it actually brought NMESIS—which it received in Hawaii in late 2024—along with other new weapon systems and equipment as the regiment takes shape and puts the concepts behind its creation into practice. 'One thing I've been telling folks, we're not an experimental unit, ' said Lehane. 'We are an initially operational capable element of the fleet Marine force who happens to do some experimentation, but my first and only focus is making these Marines as lethal and as survivable as possible if they're called upon to do something in crisis or conflict for the nation.' But this year's deployment, with multiple weapons system in the hands of the Hawaii Marines seeing their overseas debut, is a milestone. 'From now on, when you see the MLR … it will have NMESIS with it, and it will have all of the parts and pieces that are exciting because they're new, but to us they're just becoming normal, ' said Lehane. 'These are not experimental systems ; they are fielded and ready to go.' As the U.S. trains with Philippine forces, the Chinese military is conducting its own operations around the Philippines in close proximity. Last week the Chinese navy's aircraft carrier Shandong sailed into waters claimed by the Philippines and carried out flight deck operations about 123 nautical miles off the coast of Ilocos Norte province April 25. Over the weekend, the U.S. and Philippine militaries conducted live-fire air defense drills together in the western coastal province of Zambales, where the 3rd MLR used its new Marine Air Defense Integrated System—better known as MADIS—which it first used in February to down drones in an exercise on Hawaii island. As they did, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the Chinese coast guard had 'implemented maritime control ' over Sandy Cay, a small sandbank in the disputed Spratly Islands, which both Beijing and Manila claim as their own. Sandy Cay lies near Thitu Island, which has a Philippine military air field and naval station. Chinese media released photos of Chinese coast guardsmen standing on the small formation holding a Chinese flag. In response, a small group of Philippine Marines, coast guardsmen and police went from Thitu Island to Sandy Cay on Sunday and took photos of themselves holding a Philippine flag. On Tuesday the Chinese military began a new naval patrol in the South China Sea and released a statement asserting that 'the Philippines has been frequently carrying out maritime infringement provocations, creating disturbances and pulling in countries from outside the region to organise so-called 'joint patrols.'' Island fights Under Force Design 2030, Marine Corps leaders envision a return to the 'island hopping ' operations the service conducted in the Pacific during World War II—but with a 21st-century twist. They envision Marines using high-tech sensors, communication systems, drones and missiles, as they spread out across island chains operating in small groups, that would have the potential to wreak havoc on their opponents. The service has gotten rid of all of its tanks and has phased out traditional cannon-based artillery on Oahu to replace them with NMESIS, which commanders hope to use to sink enemy ships from missile batteries that Marines would set up on islands and coastlines as they support Navy operations and allied forces. During the development of NMESIS, the U.S. military put a prototype through the paces at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai in 2021, when it was used to fire on a decommissioned vessel. Sgt. Christian Chonperez, an artilleryman who spent his career operating traditional cannon artillery, is one of the Hawaii Marines now operating NMESIS in the Philippines. He said that compared with howitzers he originally used, NMESIS has 'way more advanced capabilities compared to that.' But he said it's been a relatively easy transition for him and his fellow Marines as they work with the new missile launcher, saying, 'The way the system is built is to be very user-friendly towards the operator.' Unlike the old, which had to be towed by a truck or slung under a helicopter to move to different locations, NMESIS is mounted on a remote-controlled vehicle chassis, allowing Marines to quickly drive it from place to place, quickly moving to new firing positions and using 'shoot and scoot ' tactics to avoid return fire from enemy forces. Chonperez said that 'a lot of what we're doing right now is very logistical, just so this proves that we can take it wherever we want and put it in any environment, any kind of place. So moving is a lot of what we're doing.' Force Design 2030 is in many ways tailor-made with the Western Pacific in mind, with a particular focus on the South China Sea—a busy waterway that nearly one-third of all global trade travels through. Beijing claims nearly the entire sea as its exclusive territory over the objections of neighboring countries, and tensions have been mounting over territorial and navigation rights. In 2016 an international court ruled in favor of the Philippines and found that China's claims have 'no legal ' basis. Beijing rejected the ruling and has doubled down by building bases on disputed islands and reefs. The Chinese military has also harassed and sometimes attacked fishermen and other marine workers from neighboring countries—especially the Philippines. Tensions have also been ramping up as China has also stepped up military operations around Taiwan, a self-ruled island democracy that Beijing regards as a rogue province. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to bring Taiwan under Beijing's control, by force if necessary. On April 1 the Philippine military's top commander, Gen. Romeo Brawner, raised eyebrows when he told troops in the northern tip of the country to 'start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan.' Brawner, an alumnus of the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Waikiki, asserted in his remarks to his troops that 'if something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved. There are 250, 000 (overseas Filipino workers working in Taiwan, and we will have to rescue them. And it will be the task of Northern Luzon Command to be at the front line of that operation.' Changing tactics Down in Zambales the MLR's anti-aircraft battalion teamed up with the Philippine air force and U.S. Army as they shot down drones in coastal defense drills where they put their new MADIS system to the test. The system consists of pairs of armored vehicles equipped with a host of advanced cameras and sensors to detect small drone threats and using a mixture of weapons and jamming devices to take them down. The system was originally inspired by the U.S. military's experiences fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, where the militants began using low-cost commercial drones to spy on and in some cases attack local and coalition forces. Drones have only become more ubiquitous on battlefields around the world, with both sides of the conflict in Ukraine in particular using drones to deadly effect. On April 15 the Philippine navy announced that it had concluded that mysterious underwater drones that had been found by Filipino fishermen likely came from China and were being used to spy in Philippine waters and map the area for submarine operations. 'It's not just adversaries ; it's fishermen, it's (everyday people ). I'm a drone hobbyist. I fly a drone on my own, ' said Lehane. 'They are just becoming part and parcel to everyday life. And so all the more important that we're able to, one, detect them ; two, classify what they are ; three, determine whether or not there's (hostile ) intent ; and then four, if necessary, take them out of the sky.' The MADIS was tested in Arizona before making its way to Marines in Hawaii. The armored trucks operating the system are still painted desert tan for Middle Eastern operations rather than the tropical Pacific environments the Corps largely envisions the MLR operating in. It's a visible reminder of the long legacy of two decades of costly, bloody warfare in the Middle East that still casts a long shadow over U.S. military operations today. Lt. Col. Matthew Sladek, commander of 3rd MLR's anti-aircraft battalion, said the military's equipment-testing organizations' focus 'has all been desert, desert, desert, because that's where we've fought for the last 20 years.' He explained that the MADIS trucks the Marines are using in Balikatan 'are the first ones out the door, fielded by the program office. When these guys go back to Hawaii, these trucks will actually make their way back to Charleston, South Carolina, and then we'll get replaced with full rate production trucks, which will come back here.' One of the major tests is how new systems actually fare in the humid, tropical coasts and islands in the South China Sea. Sladek said that while the weapons themselves have been fine, the hot, moist air poses challenges for advanced sensors and computer systems and that 'there's some things we got to work through.' The dramatic transformation of the Marine Corps has been controversial, with many retired Marine officers expressing skepticism and in some cases dismay at the radical changes. They charge that getting rid of tanks and other equipment to focus on unproven high-tech systems is wrong and that Chinese forces would obliterate them in a real confrontation. Lehane said several critics have come to Marine Corps Base Hawaii to question him and see for themselves, and that many have softened their criticism. He told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 'When you get a look at it from the outside, maybe you don't understand all the facts or the arrangements, or what intel is driving us to do the things that we're doing, but none of it is haphazard.' Among the concerns is that the focus on missile batteries, drone and high-tech gadgets takes away the focus on infantrymen and will erode their fighting skills. But Lehane says the infantry remains central and that 'the focus on the regiment, the focus of the battalion and company commanders, is all back on the basics. You know, are you physically fit ? When you squeeze the trigger on a rifle, can you strike the target the first time and every time ? Do you know your orders ? Do you know how to patrol ?' Lehane added that 'no matter how amazing all of this equipment is—newest radar, coolest air defense thing, best anti-ship missile—all of that is mildly interesting if you can't do the basics.'
