By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine and Japanese forces launched a six-day air exercise Sunday, putting their strengthened defense relationship into action under a new logistics agreement.
The Doshin-Bayanihan 6-26 exercise, running until Oct. 9, is being held in Cebu, Leyte and Palawan, including Puerto Princesa, facing the West Philippine Sea.
A key activity will have the Philippine Air Force refueling a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force aircraft—an arrangement enabled by the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (Acsa), which took effect in August.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi described the move as an important milestone in bilateral defense cooperation.
Japan is deploying a KC-130H aircraft and 40 personnel, while the Philippines is fielding a C-130H and support personnel.
The exercise includes airdrop operations, cargo handling, nighttime flight procedures using night-vision equipment, mass-casualty response and aeromedical evacuation.
The Acsa establishes procedures for the exchange of supplies and services during authorized military activities while improving interoperability and readiness.
The agreement follows the Philippines-Japan Reciprocal Access Agreement, which took effect last year and established a framework for cooperative activities involving their armed forces.
ia/xf
