On Monday, April 21, the United States and the Philippines kicked off the 40th iteration of their annual Balikatan exercises. The three-week-long military drills will involve more than 14,000 American and Filipino soldiers as well as an array of U.S. weapons including the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS), and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The Philippines will also take the opportunity to test their modern missiles in live-fire exercises.
The deployment of NMESIS, a ground-based anti-ship missile launcher, is considered particularly significant because it is the first-ever deployment of this new weapons system in the country. Its participation was requested by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine Marine Corps. NMESIS enhances sea denial capabilities, reinforces naval integrating, and extends the Joint Force’s targeting range from land and sea – all critical capabilities for coastal defense.
The purpose of these exercises is to test Philippines-U.S. interoperability and enhance operational readiness. Through the drills, allied troops can validate, refine, and improve their combined capability. It also aligns with the AFP’s Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC), which calls for the modernization of capabilities to meet emerging threats, including cyber, maritime, and disaster response scenarios.
The capabilities of U.S. and Filipino forces will be measured in multiple scenarios, including maritime security, integrated air and missile defense, counter-landing live fires, and maritime strike capabilities. The virtual and constructive scenarios will cover all domains – air, land, sea, space, and cyber. Balikatan 25 will also include logistics and command and control exercises.
Beyond the military aspects, the Balikatan exercises also include “humanitarian efforts and infrastructure projects that directly benefit [Filipino] local communities,” such as sharing medical skills, stimulating the economy, and building local ties.
According to Lieutenant General James Glynn, the U.S. exercise director, this year’s exercises are “full battle tests… intended to take into consideration all of the regional security challenges that we face today, beginning in the South China Sea.”
The Philippines and China have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, and have had a series of dramatic run-ins between coast guard and civilian vessels alike in the past few years.
Major General Francisco Lorenzo, the Filipino exercise director, noted that the exercises were not directed against any country but could act as 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.”
For China, any signs that the Philippines-U.S. alliance would intervene in a Taiwan Strait contingency is a source of extreme neuralgia.
The outcome of the training will be multilayered: the information about current joint and combined capabilities gleaned from the tests, as well as the investments that are made based on this information to fill the revealed shortfalls. Additional outcomes include the signal that it sends to other countries.
AFP chief General Romeo Brawner, Jr. explained the broader strategic goals of the exercises: “Together with our allies, we reaffirm our commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty, a pillar of our bilateral relations and a guardian of peace in our region.”
Similarly, Glynn said, “Together with our steadfast allies in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and with the growing involvement of nations with shared vital interests, like Australia and Japan, we are operating as a force with mutually supporting capabilities ready to meet the challenges in the region and defend a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
In addition to the approximately 9,000-12,000 U.S. and 5,000-6,000 Filipino soldiers, Australia will participate with 200 personnel, Japan with 56, the United Kingdom with 11, and France and Canada with two personnel each. Nearly 20 countries will observe. Germany, which has observed Balikatan exercises in the past, is attending again, while four European countries are sending observers for the first time: Czechia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Poland. Observer states closer to the Philippines include Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
