U.S. and Philippine forces began their largest annual joint exercise on April 24, as a unit of soldiers from the Guam Army National Guard met to take part in weapons training with Filipino counterparts at Fort Magsaysay outside of Manila. The exercise, Balikatan 2009, is geared toward creating avenues of interoperability between the U.S. and Philippine armed forces. While much of the training centers around humanitarian relief or natural disaster scenarios, it also serves as a visible show of force against potential enemies to U.S. interests and the Philippine government. Communist and Islamist insurgency movements have beset the South Pacific Island nation since the late 1960s.
