(CNN Philippines) — American troops joining their Filipino counterparts in Balikatan 2015, which started on Monday (April 20), will have limited liberty, according to the United States Pacific Command (PACOM).
“Service members participating in, and supporting Balikatan 2015 may only eat in restaurants inside their hotel or within close proximity to their hotel (walking distance) if their hotel does not have a restaurant inside,” Army Maj. David Eastburn, a PACOM spokesman, said, as quoted in a NavyTimes written by David Larter.
Bars and nightclubs will be strictly off limits, Eastburn said.
“Bars and nightclubs are off limits and all participants in Balikatan 2015 must be back in their hotel by 10 p.m.,” Eastburn said. “Service members may participate in command sponsored community relations events and ships may authorize events on the pier.”
The order is being implemented to prevent incidents that could create friction between the two countries.
Last year, Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton of the US Marines was accused of murdering transgender woman Jennifer Laude at a hotel in Olongapo City.
Pemberton is detained at a facility of the Joint United States Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG) in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City while the case is under trial.
The incident has stirred up the ire of groups opposed to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which allows such exercises to continue despite the absence of any US bases in the Philippines.
Originally, such exercises were authorized under the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty signed in 1951.
In another related issue, the start of this year’s exercises coincided with the release by the Armed Forces of the Philippines of aerial photos of the disputed Spratly Islands, showing structures on some reefs and islands suspected of having been constructed by China.
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Both the US and the Philippines have denied, however, that the exercises are a direct response to Chinese reclamation works in the disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin stressed the nonmilitary aim of the exercises in his remarks during the opening ceremonies at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) General Headquarters in Quezon City.
“Today, as maritime security and maritime domain awareness have become primary considerations, I am sure that this Balikatan exercise, while building on the positive results of previous exercises, would likewise zero in on enhancing our combined capacity to undertake humanitarian assistance and disaster response, as well as in dealing with maritime security challenges and improve our maritime domain awareness.”
Still the sheer number of troops involved in this year’s exercises would be hard for any neighboring nation to ignore.
With some 11,000 troops participating – 6,000 of them Americans and 5,000 Filipinos – the 2015 edition of the exercises may yet is probably the biggest the long-time allies ever staged in recent years.
Last year, only 2,500 US troops and 3,000 AFP personnel participated in the Balikatan, according to Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, chief of the AFP Public Affairs Office.
This year’s exercises will also involve 92 aircraft — 76 from the US, 15 from the Philippines, and one from Australia.
Three US ships and a Filipino vessel will also be used.
The exercises is scheduled to end on April 30, with closing ceremonies to be held in Clark Air Base in Pampanga.
