US Marine, Contractors Die in Philippines Plane Crash

US Marine, Contractors Die in Philippines Plane Crash

One U.S. service member and three defense contractors were killed on Thursday when a plane contracted by the U.S. military crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines, according to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

The U.S. Naval Institute reported, according to defense officials, that the service member was a Marine.

The Beechcraft twin-engine Super King Air 350 aircraft was on a routine mission, providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of Philippine allies, the command said in a statement. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.

wing2000 said:

U.S. forces have been deployed in a Philippine military camp in the country's south for decades to help provide advice and training to Filipino forces battling Muslim militants.

I didn't realize that conflict was still active....and US military is still involved.

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There are still around a hundred or so US military personnel that provide intelligence and training that are stationed in Zamboanga.

As far as the Mindanao Conflict is concerned, things have been much quieter since a peace agreement between the Philippine government and the largest Moro militant group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, was reached. There was also a law known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which was ratified in January 2019, establishing a Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Mindanao. Despite these positive steps, a few clashes still occur from time to time with some of the smaller terrorist groups and those who oppose peace.

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The Bangsamoro transition period that was written into the Bangsamoro Organic Law will end in June, and the first elections to decide who will govern the Bangsamoro will take place in May. It's expected that some of the terrorist groups in the Bansamoro region may become more active in the coming months in an effort to disrupt peace and stability and to make themselves appear relevant in the region ahead of the elections, so that will be something to watch for going forward.