PH, US now gearing up for much larger Balikatan exercises in 2025

MILITARY DRILLS In this photo taken in April 2019, Filipino and American troops storm a beach facing West Philippine Sea in Zambales province during amphibious exercises as part of the 2019 “Balikatan” military exercises. INQUIRER file photo / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States are now gearing up for much larger bilateral war games next year, the military spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the early preparation for Balikatan is partly why US General Charles Brown Jr., chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, visited the military headquarters on Tuesday.

Brown met AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

“After Balikatan we are already on the works with our planning, so I guess this [meeting] will have more details how the Balikatan exercises will be pushing forward,” Padilla said in a regular AFP press briefing in Philippine Air Force headquarters when asked what kind of message does Brown’s visit bring.

Teodoro previously said that the Balikatan 2025 will see a “full scale battle simulation.”

“Our Balikatan exercises are on the works because if [this year’s] Balikatan is one of the biggest, it’s gonna be bigger by next year,” Padilla said.

As highlight of this year’s Balikatan, the former BRP Lake Caliraya, a discarded “made in China” oil tanker, was also submerged during the sinking exercise held in the shores of Laoag City, one of the country’s northernmost areas near Taiwan that also faces the West Philippine Sea.

READ: ‘Made in China’ target ship now a fish shelter after ‘Balikatan’ simulation

The same coastal city also saw both forces’ simulation in foiling an invasion attempt by a foreign country through the use of howitzers in live fire drills.

In an unprecedented development for Balikatan, the Philippines and the United States were joined by France in conducting joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea, which saw the presence of four Chinese warships throughout their sail.

Beijing’s presence there is based on its assertion of sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the exclusive economic zone of the country’s western section, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by the arbitral award issued in July 2016.

The latest and the 39th iteration of Balikatan was joined by over 16,000 personnel including contingents from the Australian Defence Force, the French Navy, the Philippine Coast Guard, becoming one of the biggest-ever war games between Manila and Washington in terms of personnel.

The 2023 Balikatan drills saw over 16,400 troops.