Marines Hit The Beach In AAVs • Balikatan 2019

Balikatan is an annual U.S.-Philippine military training event focused on a variety of missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counterterrorism, and other combined military operations. BK 34-2018 will take place in the Philippines May 7 to 18.

Philippine and U.S. service members will conduct humanitarian civic action (HCA) activities throughout Luzon during BK 34-2018. The exercise will also demonstrate cooperation and interoperability between the Philippines and the U.S., consistent with the Mutual Defense Treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement. This event highlights the two militaries continued commitment to train and share information to improve their ability to coordinate a multilateral response to crisis.

President Duterte of the Philippines wants to relegate US role in his country to counterinsurgency, disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance. He is a little dog trying to play with the big dogs.