Exercise Alon Brings Philippine and Australian Forces to Edge of South China Sea
On Friday, the Philippines and Australia began Exercise Alon— the largest bilateral training exercise ever conducted between the two countries. 1,600 Australians are participating, including a 400-strong infantry battalion, the Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane, and an air component including F/A-18F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, C-130J Hercules and P-8A Poseidon aircraft. Manila’s contribution is similar in size, and also features air, land and sea forces together with Philippine Marine Corps elements.
The Australians and Filipinos will be joined by smaller American and Canadian components. Around 350 US Marines will participate, along with 180 Canadian sailors manning the Halifax Class frigate HMCS Ville de Québec. Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Indonesia are also sending their own observers.
“We’re proud to conduct our largest overseas exercise with the Philippines, and continue to build on our close cooperation,” Australian Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral Justin Jones commented, adding:
“Exercise Alon 25 is an opportunity for us to practice how we collaborate and respond to shared security challenges, and project force over great distances in the Indo-Pacific. This exercise reflects Australia’s commitment to working with partners to ensure we maintain a region where state sovereignty is protected, international law is followed, and nations can make decisions free from coercion. […] The value of this training comes from the people-to-people links and the opportunity to exchange practices when we conduct an Exercise of this scale. We will come away from Exercise Alon 25 with experience that will enhance our interoperability with the Philippines and ensure that we can work together in support regional security.”
The exercise will continue until August 29t and see the troops train at the edge of the South China Sea around the Philippine’s westernmost province of Palawan and major northern island of Luzon. Palawan lies approximately 220 kilometers (120 nautical miles) from the Scarborough Shoal near which two Chinese military vessels recently crashed into each other while trying to pursue a Philippines Coast Guard patrol ship. This and other parts of the South China Sea are a major flashpoint in the Pacific, with both Beijing and Manila trying to assert their territorial claims.
The exercise is set to include amphibious landing operations, naval maneuvers, and live fire drills.