Philippines, US launch joint combat drills in ‘full battle test’
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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth visiting Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Philippines, on March 28.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MANILA – More than 14,000 Filipino and American soldiers kicked off annual military exercises on April 21 for a “full battle test”
The annual “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises will run for three weeks until May 9, showcasing an array of US weapons that include the Nmesis anti-ship missile system and Himars rocket launchers.
The Philippine military will test its own modern missiles in live-fire exercises with its American counterparts, according to a summary given to the media.
Lieutenant-General James Glynn, the exercise director for the US side, described the 2025 drills as “full battle tests” where capabilities of both forces will be measured in multiple scenarios.
Exercises include defending against missile threats, preventing invasions at sea and sinking a decommissioned Philippine Navy vessel in a maritime strike test.
“The full battle tests are intended to take into consideration all of the regional security challenges that we face today, beginning in the South China Sea,” Lt-Gen Glynn told a media briefing.
About 9,000 US soldiers and 5,000 Filipino troops are participating in the 2025 drills, officials said.
Small contingents from Australia, Japan, Britain, France and Canada are also participating, and 16 other countries have signed up as observers.
The exercises come as regional tensions simmer in Asia over China’s activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan, which neighbours the Philippines.
Major-General Francisco Lorenzo, the exercise director for the Philippines, said the drills were not directed at any country, but could act as a deterrent against conflict.
“The Balikatan exercise may probably help deter the conflict in Taiwan. But for our concern, it is only for deterrence of any possible coercion or invasion to our country,” Maj-Gen Lorenzo said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on April 21 said Beijing firmly opposes any country using Taiwan as an excuse to strengthen regional military deployment and “provoke tension and confrontation”.
“The parties concerned are advised not to provoke on the Taiwan issue, and those who play with fire will burn themselves,” Mr Guo said at a regular briefing.
Tensions between China and the Philippines have escalated in the past two years over run-ins between their coast guards in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims sovereignty over almost in its entirety. REUTERS
