Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., Philippine Army chief (third from left), and Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson, commanding general of the US Army I Corps (fourth from left), link arms with other army officials from both countries to symbolize their alliance and friendship as joint military exercises start on Monday. —AFP
MANILA, Philippines — The annual bilateral war games between the Philippines and its longtime ally the United States will be joined by 17,600 troops in April 2023, an Armed Forces of the Philippines official said on Tuesday.
Col. Michael Logico, spokesperson of Balikatan 2023, said the annual military exercises will be held from April 21 to 28 in the areas of Northern Luzon, Palawan and Antique.
“This is officially the largest Balikatan exercise,” Logico, who is also the director of Joint and Combined Training Center and AFP Education, Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters.
Out of the said troops, Logico said 12,000 will come from the United States, while the rest are Philippine troops and a total of 111 from the Australian Defense Forces who will be observers.
Last year’s Balikatan only had 8,900 participants.