by Kris Osborn, Warrior

The US and Philippine armies are conducting jungle warfare operations to prepare their forces to confront a potential Chinese invasion, a dangerous and potentially realistic scenario often considered by Pentagon wargamers

The ongoing exercises in the Philippine jungles, which include infantry, coastal maneuvers, air-ground support and some mechanized armored vehicles, are designed to solidify US-Philippine interoperability and combat readiness. It is part of an expanded US Army training initiative to bring realistic and impactful military training beyond its well known National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., and establish critical regional training locations in the Pacific.  The jungle warfare training in the Philippines is a key part of the Army’s Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, an entity which conducts war preparation exercises in Alaska, Hawaii and a Pacific location West of the International Date Line each year. 

“In the summer, we do what's called our exportable package. Right now we are in the Philippines. So we do it West of the international dateline with forward units that are out there preparing with their partners. This specific exercise is focused on jungle operations and helping the Philippine Army to be able to defend their homeland if necessary in a really tough environment, the toughest that there is, honestly,” Col. Mathew Leclair, Commanding Officer, Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, told Warrior in an interview. “The CTC Combat Training Center here in the Pacific is directly aligned with General Clark, the USARPAC commander. We work directly for General Clark to build readiness here in the region in support of the Indo-Pacom commander throughout the region of the Pacific.” 

Leclair explained that the combination of US-Philippine forces support a synergistic ability to reinforce support and protect the islands. The training is very much done in a multi-domain fashion, as it involves coastal operations, watercraft and littoral ship-to-shore maneuvers in support of ground forces in the jungle. Not only is jungle warfare difficult due to heat tree growth and uneven terrain, but thick vegetation makes sensing or detecting an enemy far more difficult. The heat in the jungle might also complicate efforts to accurately use infrared sensors as it becomes more difficult to detect a thermal signature from surrounding terrain. This is why Philippine forces from the area prove so critical to the training, as they can help guide infantry maneuvers through the jungle with knowledge of the geography and the community of people. . 

“Everything we are doing over here is with our Philippine counterparts, because we both bring different skills to the table. They know the terrain, they know the people, they know the other government organizations. They speak the exact languages with the exact dialects. What do we bring? We bring technology, we bring understanding, we bring equipment, we bring resources, and when we put those things together, we're unbeatable,” Leclair said.