Manila, July 2 -- Exercises and drills with its local and foreign counterparts are providing the Philippine Air Force (PAF) with much-needed capabilities in defending the country's airspace, its spokesperson said on Thursday.

"We have training, hindi lang lokal (not only local),but also bilateral and multilateral exercises like the Balikatan, (and) Cope Thunder, which is with the United States, and we also have with our other branches of service -- yung (the) Kamandag, with the Marines," PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Christina Basco said in an interview with PTV's "Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon".

Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder) is the most prominent annual military exercise between the Philippines and the US, while Cope Thunder is a major annua...