Battle of Palawan (21st Century Crisis)

The Battle of Palawan (Filipino: Laban sa Palawan, Spanish: Batalla de Palawan, Malay: Pertempuran Palawan) known as Operation Completion (Malay: Operasi Selesai) was fought between the de facto Republic of Mindanao and the Philippines from September 4, 1955 to November 5, 1955 for control of the island of Palawan. It was the first and only offensive by the Mindanao Free Army, the armed-wing of the Republic of Mindanao, which had previously and recently gained many decisive victories against the poorly-led Filipino forces and had recently merged with the Royal Sulu Army.

The Mindanao Free Army began by shelling the southern and eastern coastlines of Palawan, as well as attacking and raiding ships of Filipino naval forces around Palawan, and conducting raids against police stations and military bases in Palawan. Two more offensive brigades were unleashed on the non-defended western and northern coasts. With such little resistance from poorly-equipped Filipino soldiers, which numbered few, Salahuddin expected Palawan to be taken within a month. The Mindanao Free Army had initially achieved Phase 1 of the invasion.

Tired of their losses in Mindanao, the few Filipino forces as well as the Palawan Constabulary, that were present on the island, mounted a stubborn resistance, surprising the Mindanao Free Army as the two engaged in brutal house-to-house fighting, street-fighting, farm and forest warfare. Even with little ammunition left, Filipino soldiers fought using non-conventional weapons, such as Bolo machetes, and home-made spears. This resistance was enough for reinforcments to arrive, and drive the MFA forces out of Palawan, turning the tides against the MFA who now had to rely on stubborn will to achieve their goal of taking Palawan against a superior force.

The battle had done two things. For the Republic of Mindanao, it showed that they had underestimated the Filipino army. For the Philippines, it had boosted morale and helped Filipinos re-gain faith in their military.

Though despite losing, the Mindanao Free Army fought with a stubborn will, and inflicted large-scale and traumatizing damage and losses to the Filipino forces. both militarily and phsycologically. While acknowledging a possible defeat, Ahmad Salahuddin, the President of Mindanao promised, "We may lose the battle in Palawan. The Filipinos may win, but we'll make sure they won't be able to celebrate their victory."