The Singapore and Philippine Armies Conduct Professional Exchange in Urban Operations

The Philippine Army (PA) is in Singapore from 4 to 15 December 2017 to participate in an Urban Operations (UO) professional exchange with the Singapore Army. This exchange follows an earlier offer in July 2017 by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen for the Philippine Army to use the SAF's urban training facilities.

Conducted by the Infantry Training Institute (ITI) at the Murai Urban Training Facility, the professional exchange allowed for cross-sharing between the two armies on the small unit Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) and individual skill-sets required to operate in a complex urban operating environment. As part of the exchange, the PA also shared their operational learning from their counter-terrorism efforts in Marawi.

The professional exchange culminated in the execution of a Platoon UO Mission earlier today. At the conclusion of the mission, Commander ITI, Colonel Liew Kok Keong shared, "The UO training at MUTF allowed the Philippine Army to continue honing their skills in urban operations under a complex operating environment, while our soldiers gained operational learning from the experiences of the Philippine Army soldiers in the Marawi Crisis. Both armies gained knowledge and skill-sets from the professional exchange and forged stronger bonds, which will strengthen the cooperation in our counter-terrorism efforts and improve the security of our region." Highlighting the importance of this two-week programme, Commandant, Counter Terrorist Development Training School/ Head of PA Delegation, MAJ Edwin M Mirador said, "Training is an indispensable tool in providing our soldiers with the necessary skills needed to accomplish any given mission. The professional exchange with the SAF has allowed us to share knowledge on the Marawi operations and adopt SAF's UO training procedures for learning. Therefore, co-sharing between the armies was an essential training aid. We are pleased with the interactions we had with the Singapore Army."

The interaction between both armies underscores the warm and friendly defence relationship between Singapore and the Philippines. Both countries' armed forces interact regularly through visits, professional exchanges, cross-attendance of courses, and multilateral exercises such as the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security and Counter-Terrorism Exercise in May 2016 and Exercise Coordinated Response in January 2017, which was the first multinational Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise hosted by the Changi Regional HADR Coordination Centre.