CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 11 March) — United States servicemen have started arriving at Lumbia Air Base, one of the nine Philippine military bases designated under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), to train with Philippine troops in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
Maj. Gen. Michele Anayron, commanding general of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, was quick to say that the US soldiers’ arrival here “has nothing to do with the West Philippine Sea or the war in Iran.”
A bus carrying US servicemen in civilian clothes was seen arriving at the facility last Tuesday. Photos and videos of their arrival later circulated on Facebook.
More US servicemen were also reportedly seen checking in at several downtown hotels in the city.
Lumbia Air Base was formerly the old civilian airport of Cagayan de Oro before it was converted into a Philippine Air Force base and later designated as an EDCA site for joint activities between Philippine and US forces. (The local commercial airport, meanwhile, was transferred to the municipality of Laguindingan in Misamis Oriental, some 40 kilometers away.)
Anayron said the US servicemen are in the area to conduct training with Philippine troops on humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Anayron said most of the training activities will be held at Lumbia Air Base, which under EDCA serves as a joint-use facility focused on humanitarian and disaster relief missions.
“This training has nothing to do with the West Philippine Sea or the war in Iran. This is purely training,” Anayron said, allaying fears among some local residents that the presence of US troops might draw the area into current geopolitical tensions.
He added that troops in Northern Mindanao rarely receive this kind of specialized training, which is usually conducted by US forces in Luzon during the regular Balikatan exercises.
“Our troops need the specialized training and exposure as we transition from internal security operations to external or territorial defense,” Anayron said.
Maj. Patrick Martinez, 4ID spokesperson, said this is not the first time the division has hosted training with foreign troops.
Martinez said last year, more than 70 servicemen from the Australian Defence Force previously trained for a month with soldiers from the 4ID in jungle warfare at Camp Kibaritan, a 46,000-hectare military reservation located in the municipalities Kalilangan, Talakag and Pangantucan in Bukidnon. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
