ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines — Almost a thousand troops from the Philippine Navy are participating in a weeklong military exercise in various sites in the terrorism-plagued provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. The weeklong training is dubbed Exercise Pagsisikap 2021, which will mainly involve amphibious landings whereby troops are released from the sea and negotiate their way into an island. Rosario said there was a need for troops to familiarize themselves with the new armaments especially now that Philippine Navy vessels are equipped with missiles. Alan Javier, deputy commander for fleet operations and in charge of the overall exercise, said all the participating troops were deployed to the areas on Oct. 24. Nine ships including an MPAC with missiles, a helicopter, and marines’ amphibious attack vessels were also stationed in Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi for the exercise.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 27, 2021 02:48 UTC