Army: Bigger US-PH war games expected in 2023 to prepare for ‘threats’

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — The bilateral war games to be held by the Philippines and its long-time ally the United States this 2023 will be joined by more troops from both countries compared to the previous year, Philippine Army commander Romeo Brawner Jr. said on Wednesday.

“This year, it is claimed that this [Balikatan exercises] will be bigger than the past year’s exercise with the involvement of more troops and the exercises will involve a myriad of activities, not just focused on developing war-fighting capabilities of both armies and armed forces but also non-traditional roles such as humanitarian assistance and disaster response [HADR],” Brawner said in a press conference in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

The 2022 Balikatan Exercises were joined by over 8,900 Filipino and American forces.

But the official has not yet provided the specifics for this year.

Brawner said the annual military exercise is in response to “man-made and natural” threats in the future.

“I am not really sure if this is specifically to address the geopolitical threats in the area [but] … just the same, all these exercises we are doing are in response to all types of threats that we may be facing in the future, both man-made and natural,” he said.

The official said this year’s Balikatan Exercises will be from April to June and will be held in traditional sites in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and other parts of the country as well.

“The Balikatan exercises will be from April to June,” he said.

“Activities will be spread throughout the country, and a lot of these will be done in our traditional exercise areas such as Fort Magsaysay, we also have Tarlac and HADR activities in the northern part of the country down to the south,” he added.

JPV