Defense Department Report: Philippines, Afghanistan

(U.S. Navy, Marine engineers sent to Basilan province) (400)

U.S. SENDS 300 CONSTRUCTION PERSONNEL TO PHILIPPINES

Approximately 300 U.S. Navy Seabees and Marine Corps engineers have
begun arriving in the southern Philippine island-province of Basilan
for construction projects to bolster counterterrorism efforts in the
region, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says.

They will offer training, assistance and advice to Philippine military
personnel on construction projects that are primarily military in
nature, but will be of some benefit to the civilian population in the
province, Air Force General Richard Myers said at a Pentagon briefing
April 22.

The United States currently has 160 Special Forces personnel in the
southern region for a six-month counterterrorism exercise aimed at
helping local Philippine forces conduct operations against the
terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked to the al-Qaida
network.

Myers said the United States also is participating in a three-week
joint military exercise on the island of Luzon in the northern
Philippines. He said the joint exercise involves 2,700 U.S. military
forces and 2,900 Philippine armed forces in missions to improve
Philippine defenses and bolster that nation's ability to participate
in peacekeeping operations. The Luzon exercise is expected to end May
6, and will include construction projects to create medical and dental
clinics for local residents, the Pentagon said separately.

CANADIANS TO OBSERVE U.S. INVESTIGATION OF FATAL BOMBING

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at the Pentagon briefing
that Canadian military officials will have an observer present during
the U.S. investigation into a bombing accident that killed four
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.

"My understanding is, the Canadian armed services will have observers
present in every aspect of it," he said. "They are conducting a
parallel, but separate, investigation of their own."

Rumsfeld and Myers said it will take from 30 to 60 days to complete
the investigation.

Four Canadian infantry soldiers were killed and eight others were
injured while conducting a nighttime training exercise when a U.S.
F-16 fighter apparently mistook them for enemy forces and dropped a
500-pound bomb on them, the Pentagon said. The Canadians were
conducting a live-fire training exercise near the southern Afghan
province of Kandahar at the time of the accident.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)