The exercises underscore improved ties with the United States under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and come as the Philippines condemns China’s “aggressive” actions in the disputed waterway, including its use of a “military-grade laser” against one of Manila’s vessels earlier this month.
The annual ‘Balikatan’ exercises will be conducted in the second quarter and involve more than the previous year’s 8,900 troops, army chief Romeo Brawner told reporters.
“All of these exercises that we are doing are in response to all types of threats that we may be facing in the future, both man-made and natural,” Brawner said.
President Marcos on Tuesday summoned China’s ambassador to express “serious concern” over the intensity and frequency of China’s activities in the South China Sea, most of which China claims as its territory.
China’s use of a laser against a Philippine vessel on Feb. 6, which its foreign ministry insists was legal, has sparked expressions of concerns and support from Australia, Japan, and the United States.
Washington “will redouble its efforts with our Philippine ally” to bolster the Philippine military and coast guard’s defense capabilities “as we work shoulder-to-shoulder to uphold the rules-based international order,” Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Twitter.
The Philippines has granted Washington greater access to its military bases as part of the latter’s efforts to deter China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea and tension over self-ruled Taiwan.
In 2015, more than 11,000 troops from both countries participated in the joint military exercises.
“The exercises will involve a myriad of activities, not just focused on developing the war fighting capability of both armed forces, but also of the other non-traditional roles such as humanitarian assistance and disaster response,” Brawner said.
The two-week training exercise, involving nearly 9,000 soldiers from the northern coast of Luzon to Palawan islands, came amid rising tensions in the disputed South China Sea, a strategic waterway claimed by China almost entirely, while it is also contested by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The annual drill, Balikatan — which means “shoulder-to-shoulder” in Tagalog — covered maritime security, amphibious maneuvers, live-fire training, urban and aviation operations, counterterrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
“This exercise effectively capacitates our armed forces as we fulfill our respective responsibilities in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific Region,” Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Andres Centino said during the drill’s closing ceremony.
He added that the exercise was one of the Southeast Asian nation’s proactive measures in dealing with unprecedented and real-world challenges.
The US and Philippine forces deployed more than 50 aircraft, four ships, 10 amphibious craft, four HIMARS rocket launchers, and four Patriot missile systems during this year’s Balikatan. The Patriot missile systems were used in amphibious operations in the Philippines for the first time.
“After two years of a global pandemic, US and Philippine forces have come together to complete one of the largest Balikatan exercises ever held,” said Heather Variava, US Embassy in the Philippines chargé d’affaires ad interim, who attended the ceremony as a guest of honor.
“This is a testament to the strength of the US-Philippine alliance and the shared priorities of our countries.”
The Balikatan drills were initiated in 1991, anchored on the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which commits Washington and Manila to assist one another in case of an attack.
“The completion of yet another successful Balikatan is a clear example of our shared commitment to advancing peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” US Marine Corps Forces Pacific Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Joseph Clearfield said.
“We are better prepared to respond as one cohesive team to any crisis or challenge.”
While the US-Philippine war games were likely noticed by Beijing, as they were being carried out relatively close to Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, both Centino and Clearfield said they were only aimed at improving interoperability.
“We have done this in the past, 36 times already,” Centino told reporters.
“It is meant to just improve our capabilities to use our unit procured equipment.”
While China has been seemingly siding with Russia since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, which has been seen as inflaming already existing Washington-Beijing tensions, Clearfield said the drill “had nothing to do with current events.”
Clearfield added: “We were working on doctrines, capabilities and capacities that are joint force needs currently, and in going forward in a way to deter aggressions but this was long planned a year ago before any sort of conflagration happened in Ukraine with Russia.”
Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines’ Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, told Arab News that any tensions likely to arise would not be due to the drill itself.
“As a sovereign nation with the right of self-defense, we are fully entitled to carry out whatever military exercises are necessary to ensure that we have that ability to defend ourselves,” he said.
“The types of exercises that we’ve seen in this Balikatan exercise have been long overdue, because these are the kinds of exercises that are really needed to enhance our self-defense capabilities.”
