Divorce bill to make PH conform to...

PAGE 9 to reconcile, the petition is dismissed. Even after the issuance of an absolute divorce decree, when the parties decide to reconcile, the divorce decree shall be nullified, according to the proposed law.

The bill proposes harsh penalties for those who collude to secure a divorce exercise aims to test the Philippine Navy seadenial strategy. “It is premised on the idea that a land-based anti-ship missile can defend the country’s waters from any adversary’s naval shipping, even from a distance.”

• Deploying the Patriot missile would allow the AFP to understand “the need for an antiair defense system which can protect our land and critical infrastructure from conventional ballistic threats.” (Is there a push for the AFP to buy the Patriot missile system? Cost: $1.1 billion.)

Wouldn’t China be riled by these war games? reporters asked. Col. Logico replied, “We have the absolute, inalienable right to defend our territory. We are here to show that we are combat ready.”

Preceding the Balikatan, three weeks of U.S.-PH army-to-army exercises, dubbed “Salaknib (shield)”, began on March 13 at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija. That’s the country’s largest military camp, one of the initial five bases where the U.S. forces are setting up facilities exclusively for their use, as allowed under the controversial 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

In the U.S., a newly-formed U.S. Marine Corps unit, the Third Marine Littoral Regiment (TMLR), has just concluded a 10-day mock battle across southern California, using a series of mock-up military bases to represent an unnamed “Pacific island chain.”

The TMLR was formed to fight on islands and along coastal shorelines (“littoral regions”). It has been given special equipment and freedom to innovate, and develop new tactics for one “highest” priority project: “How to fight a war against Chinese forces in their own backyard, and win,” according to a New York Times report.

“Each year they are expanding their deployment,” Berger said. “Not only in terms of the complexity of them, but also the distances they cover.” He took note that China’s navy is taking after the U.S. Navy: operating in strike groups, with destroyers and other warships escorting an aircraft carrier.

One role the TMLR could take up would be to serve as spotters who would pass along the enemy forces’ positions to US warplanes, warships or submarines for them to attack. Or the TMLR could do the attack themselves.

Berger also talked of new battlefield conditions anticipated in a prospective war: Enemy and civilian spy satellites fly overhead, and anyone turning on a small cellphone can become the target of a long-range rocket or missile. “If you are emitting radio energy, you can be detected by the enemy. If detected, you can be located and seen. If seen, you can be killed.” decree or of one spouse coercing the other to file for divorce. The penalties consist of an indivisible punishment of five years imprisonment and a sizeable fine. (PNA)

“We have to unlearn the way we were trained… You have to have an incredible amount of trust when you haven’t heard from your Marines for several days,” Berger stressed.

The Americans assume, noted the NYT, that any battle with China may take place in what the Pentagon refers to as the “first island chain.” That includes Okinawa and Taiwan down to Malaysia, the Spratlys and the Paracels – disputed islands in the South China Sea. The “second island chain” includes the Philippines, going from Japan to Guam to south of Palau.

The TMLR consists of three component forces: an infantry battalion of roughly 800 Marines, an anti-aircraft battalion that is testing new weapons and tactics and a logistics battalion. Over the next two years, it will hold “4-5 times more” war exercises than most infantry regiments. “Its next big test,” the NYT pointed out, “will be in the Philippines in April,” referring to the Balikatan exercises.

Gen. David Berger, the USMC top general, justified preparations for a potential future armed conflict in the Pacific by citing China’s

Most likely, if sent to fight in the Western Pacific, the TMLR would use their most capable drones: the MQ-9 Reaper, which could drop bombs and fire missiles, while beaming back intelligence information. Significantly, the drones could take off from runways only 915 meters long. Could the USMC command be eyeing the EDCA sites in the country to build therein runways for the MQ-9 Reaper? War freaks are surely getting excited. (Philstar.com) * * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. * * *