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Increased US aircraft presence in PH due to Cope Thunder drills: Air Force

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Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Philippine and United States armed forces conduct a bilateral amphibious exercise (AMPHIBEX) on March 31, 2022, in the vicinity of Claveria, Cagayan Valley as part of the 37th iteration of Philippine-US Exercise Balikatan. SN2 Mark Jade Autencio PN/AFP handout/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/04/04/20220331-balikatan-cagayan-ho-1.jpg"/><figcaption>Philippine and United States armed forces conduct a bilateral amphibious exercise (AMPHIBEX) on March 31, 2022, in the vicinity of Claveria, Cagayan Valley as part of the 37th iteration of Philippine-US Exercise Balikatan. <em>SN2 Mark Jade Autencio PN/AFP handout/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — The increased presence of US air assets in the Philippines is due to the bilateral exercises between the 2 countries, an official said on Tuesday.</p><p>More than 10 types of aircraft from the US Air Force are participating in the ongoing Cope Thunder exercise, said Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo, spokesperson of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).</p><p>All the aircraft involved in the exercise are covered by diplomatic clearances, Castillo said.</p><p>&quot;As long as they are covered by diplomatic clearances and communicated to us by the DFA, there is no threat because it went through the proper process. All those involved in the training went through the proper process of getting the proper diplomatic clearance,&quot; Castillo told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/09/23/imee-flags-presence-of-more-us-military-planes-in-ph">Imee questions presence of &#x27;more&#x27; US military planes in Philippines</a></li></ul><p>The PAF made the statement after Sen. Imee Marcos questioned the arrival of more US air assets in the Philippines.</p><p>The senator called on concerned government agencies to monitor the presence of US military aircraft and Chinese naval ships &quot;equally.&quot;</p><p>But Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said there was no &quot;discrimination&quot; in the military&#x27;s monitoring of aircraft and vessels entering Philippine territory.</p><p>&quot;When it comes to monitoring, inherent sa trabaho namin na i-monitor lahat. In the entry of aircraft, there is a process involved. Dumadaan siya sa tamang proseso,&quot; Aguilar said. </p><p>(When it comes to monitoring, it is inherent in our job to monitor everything. In the entry of aircraft, there is a process involved. It goes through the right process.)</p><p>&quot;But with due courtesy to the good senator, she deserves to receive a response directly from us,&quot; he said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/11/23/carpio-us-in-west-ph-sea-to-assert-freedom-of-navigation-overflight">Carpio: US in West Philippine Sea to assert freedom of navigation, overflight</a></li></ul><p>Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian meanwhile said the US should respect Philippine protocols, adding that Manila was &quot;not a garage&quot; of Washington.</p><p>&quot;Dahil meron tayong EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation) with them, may agreement tayo with them, meron tayong military exercises with them through the Balikatan. Dapat respetuhin din nila iyong proseso natin. Hindi tayo puwedeng gawing parang garahe na any time puwedeng pumasok at lumabas nang walang paalam,&quot; Gatchalian said. </p><p>(Because we have EDCA with them, we have an agreement with them, we have military exercises with them through the Balikatan. They should also respect our process. We cannot be treated like a garage where they can come and go any time without permission.)</p><div><strong>MILITARY DRILLS</strong></div><p>The PAF and US Air Force formally opened the second iteration of Cope Thunder on July 7. The joint exercise will last until July 21.</p><p>PAF&#x27;s Castillo said this year&#x27;s Cope Thunder would involve large aircraft movement exercises.</p><p>“Aside from their [USAF] F-22s, they also brought in their other aircraft, more than 10 types of aircraft. Right now, for Cope Thunder, what we are simulating is the large force deployment. Aside from operating within Luzon, they will be flying their fleet to as far as Mactan, Cebu and General Santos City,” Castillo said.</p><p>&quot;Large force deployment is necessary because we have to move our air assets to different countries and that would require not only the movement… that will require the movement of our cargo aircraft, we will have to ferry the support personnel,&quot; she added.</p><p>Aside from Cope Thunder, Filipino and American marines are also currently conducting joint military drills dubbed Marine Aviation Support Activity (MASA) 2023.</p><p>Some 2,800 personnel from the Philippine Marine Corps and US Marine Corps are taking part in the drills, the biggest in its history.</p><p>The USMC is deploying 43 of its air assets throughout the exercises.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/03/23/paf-maritime-patrols-essential-amid-asia-pacific-row-marcos">Marcos says PAF maritime patrols &#x27;essential&#x27; amid Asia-Pacific geopolitical row</a></li></ul><div><strong>— With a report from Arra Perez, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2609977" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The PAF made the clarification after Sen. Imee Marcos questioned the arrival of more US air assets in the Philippines.

Increased US aircraft presence in PH due to Cope Thunder drills: Air Force

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Increased US aircraft presence in PH due to Cope Thunder drills: Air Force

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 11, 2023 04:02 PM PHT

Read More:

US aircraft

Philippine Air Force

AFP

Senator Imee Marcos

diplomatic clearance

bilateral exercises

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