Tokyo and Manila employed their recently enacted visiting-forces pact for the first time Tuesday to support disaster relief operations in the Philippine province of Cebu, which was struck by a deadly magnitude 6.9 earthquake last week.
The joint activities by the Philippine Air Force and the Air Self-Defense Force, which run through Saturday, will see much-needed relief goods flown from Tacloban Air Base on Leyte island to Mactan Air Base in Cebu province, marking the militaries’ first joint operation under the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) signed last year.
The operations, which will be part of the latest iteration of the bilateral Doshin-Bayanihan exercise series, will include 30 ASDF personnel and a KC-130H transport aircraft, while the Philippines will provide a C-130H and a UH-1 helicopter, according to an ASDF statement.
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