Thousands of allied American and Filipino troops began annual “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) combat exercises on Monday, which have drawn a sharp response from China. The drills are conducted in a “full-scale war scenario” intended to simulate the defense of the Philippine archipelago and seas, including repelling an island attack.
These annual military exercises between the longtime treaty allies, the United States and the Philippines, are scheduled to involve about 21 American and 9 Filipino military personnel from April 9.000 to May 5.000. The exercises will involve fighter jets, warships and a variety of advanced weapons systems, including the U.S. Marine Corps' anti-ship missile system, U.S. and Filipino military officials said.
Strong Reaction from China
China resolutely opposes such war exercises, especially those involving US and allied forces. Beijing argues that such activities threaten regional stability and peace in and near the disputed South China Sea, as well as in the northern Philippine provinces close to Taiwan. China says the US and its allies aim to control the region.
“We are ready” Message
Asked whether U.S. and Philippine forces were capable of responding to any major act of aggression in the Taiwan Strait or South China Sea after years of joint combat exercises, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Glynn said unequivocally, “We are ready.”
“Our combined force … has some lethality for a force that has the spirit and soul of an indomitable warrior,” Glynn said at the opening ceremony of the annual combat readiness exercises. He emphasized that the combined force is dedicated to a single purpose: ensuring the defense of the Philippines and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“We all want to resolve regional conflicts peacefully, but we need to be prepared if deterrence fails,” said Glynn, who previously led special operations forces against the Islamic State group and served in Fallujah, Iraq.
Purpose and Scope of the Exercises
Philippine Army Maj. Gen. Francisco Lorenzo said the training, which is organized as part of the Balikatan exercises, which means “shoulder to shoulder” in Tagalog, does not target any country. “This is a joint training with U.S. forces to increase our ability to secure our territory, and of course this will increase our capabilities and our preparedness and response to any eventuality,” Lorenzo said.
The drills include a variety of scenarios, including a mock allied counterattack against an enemy attack on an island, the use of artillery and missile fire to sink a mock enemy ship, joint naval expeditions in or near the disputed South China Sea and aerial combat surveillance, the Philippine military said.
The Philippine military described this year’s large-scale combat exercises as “a full-scale combat scenario meticulously designed to rigorously test and develop the combined capabilities of the armed forces of both countries under the most realistic and challenging conditions.”
International Participation and Missile Deployment
Australia plans to deploy about 260 participants, along with US and Philippine military personnel, an Australian military official said. Several countries, including Japan, also plan to send military observers to the exercises.
The U.S. and Philippine military said the medium-range missile system the U.S. military deployed last year in the northern Philippines will be used again in combat exercises, without providing additional details. China has repeatedly expressed concern over the missile deployment and has demanded that Philippine authorities remove the weapons from Philippine territory, saying it could trigger an arms race.
The U.S. military’s intermediate-range missile system, which includes a mobile launcher and at least 16 Standard-6 and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, has been repositioned in the Philippines, a Philippine official told The Associated Press earlier this year. The system was moved from the northern Philippine city of Laoag to a strategic area in the western coastal province overlooking a disputed shoal in the South China Sea where Chinese and Philippine coast guards and naval forces have been in increasingly tense confrontation.
US Emphasizes “Peace Through Strength”
Last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Manila as part of his first visit to Asia and said the Trump administration would work with allies to strengthen deterrence against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. Hegseth said the U.S. was not preparing for war and emphasized that peace would be won “through strength.”
Hegseth also said the US will deploy an anti-ship missile system called the Navy Sea Expeditionary Ship Intervention System, as well as unmanned naval vessels, during the Balikatan exercise to enable allied forces to train together to defend the sovereignty of the Philippines. The allied forces also agreed to train special operations forces in Batanes province, the northernmost tip of the Philippine archipelago, across the sea from Taiwan, the statement said.
Regional Conflicts and the Role of the United States
China and the Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, have overlapping claims in the busy waterway. Washington does not claim any rights over the waterway but has repeatedly warned the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, that it must defend Filipino forces, including in the South China Sea, if their ships and aircraft come under armed attack. The exercises are critical to demonstrating the U.S. commitment to its allies in the region and its deterrence capabilities.
