The trilateral exercise of the Philippines, Japan, and United States coast guards will focus on law enforcement and search and rescue operations.

In an interview with dzBB, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said the maritime exercises would improve the interoperability of the country’s coast guard and test their skills.

“It will improve their interoperability when it comes to search and rescue operations and law enforcement. Second, they can learn skills. There are best practices that we can adapt and imitate as well as share what we do. There will also be a people-to-people exchange,” Balilo said.

“Based on the scenario that was told to us, they will have a target vessel which could be a victim of piracy or of a vessel carrying weapons of mass destruction. The Philippine Coast Guard will enter this vessel while the US and Japan will observe if we are doing the operations correctly,” Balilo said.

“US and Japan have been helping us with our human resource development for a long time…This is the right time for them to validate and see if their teachings are applied properly,” he added.

Balilo said other activities such as civil relation activities, women-to-women exchange, and sports activities will be conducted.

Of the coast guard participants, 250 were Filipino, 70 were Japanese and 100 were American.

He said there will be a send-off ceremony once the maritime exercises are finished by Wednesday. The drills started on June 1. Jaspearl Tan/DMS