PCG, Japan Coast Guard conduct joint exercises in Cavite

Above and below: PCG, Japan conduct joint exercises in Cavite on Sunday, November 25, 2018. Photos: PCG spokesperson Captain Armand Balilo

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) conducted combined exercises with the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) one nautical mile north of Sangley Point in Cavite City on Sunday morning, according to a press release from PCG.

The two coast guards conducted counter-piracy exercises (information sharing, searching, chasing and capturing and suppressing exercises) and firefighting and water spray drills.

The PCG said that it dispatched several vessels and boats for the exercises. Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Suluan (Multi-Role Response Vessel 4406), BRP Boracay (Fast Patrol Boat 2401), two Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats, and JCG patrol vessel Echigo with its onboard Helicopter Sikorsky S76D  served as as responding units, while BRP Panglao (FPB 2402) acted as the victim vessel.

Captain Rolando Lizor N. Punzalan Jr., acting commander of National Capital Region-Central Luzon was the PCG Exercise Director, while the JCG's Vice Commander for Operations, Vice Admiral Takahiro Okushima, led the Japanese delegation.

“Napakaimportante sa kanila ang exercise dahil na din sa mga piracy incidents sa bansa lalo na South Eastern Mindanao,” said PCG spokesperson Captain Armand Balilo.

“Labing tatlong libong foreign vessels ang dumadaan sa Mindanao lalo na sa Sibutu passage mula sa Australia na papuntang China, Japan, at South Korea, kaya kailangang maghandang mabuti kung paano reresponde ng mabuti sa piracy incidents,” he added.

Balilo also said that there has been no recorded piracy incidents in southwestern Mindanao this year, and attributed it to the PCG and Philippine Navy's patrols, along with the cooperation of local government units. — Joviland Rita/BM, GMA News