This week in the Philippines, the latest iteration of the annual Balikatan military exercise kicked off as American commanders in the Pacific work to reassure allies in the region as violence in the Strait of Hormuz continues to deliver global economic shocks.
During an opening ceremony on Monday, Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner told participants that when the U.S. and Israel began strikes against Iran, he was “in a conversation with” Adm. Samuel Paparo, the Hawaii-based commander of American forces in the Pacific.
Brawner said that “in that conversation, he assured me that despite the conflict happening now in the Middle East and elsewhere around the world, the commitment of the United States is still strong, and that the Balikatan exercise for this year will be, according to his own words, the biggest ever.”
Balikatan, which was once a relatively modest joint exercise between the U.S. and Philippine militaries, has grown into a multinational exercise that gets larger every year. This year more than 17,000 troops are taking part, including active participation from Australia, Japan, Canada, France and New Zealand along with military observers from 17 other countries.
Units from Hawaii, like the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks and the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment out of Kaneohe, have played a central role in growing military cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines. Both units debuted new weapons systems overseas at Balikatan last year, notably the 3rd MLR brought its NMESIS anti-ship missile system to the Batanes Islands just south of Taiwan.
This year, in the lead-up to Balikatan, soldiers from the 25th already were on the ground training with the the Philippine Army in Exercise Salaknib — another exercise which also has become annual — and will continue to be on the ground for weeks after Balikatan for more training with Philippine soldiers.
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Brawner is an alum of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Waikiki and has been a frequent visitor to the islands as he seeks to bolster military ties with the U.S. and other countries in the region and beyond. Balikatan has served as a showcase for those efforts.
“What began as a bilateral training activity has evolved into a truly multilateral endeavor reflecting the realities of today’s security environment and the shared responsibility of nations committed to peace,” Brawner said. “We remain guided by a shared commitment to uphold international law, to respect sovereignty and to contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific where nations can thrive without coercion.”
Growing exercises
China and the Philippines have been embroiled in bitter disputes over territorial and navigation rights around islands and reefs in part of the South China Sea, a critical waterway that a third of all international trade moves through. Beijing claims exclusive sovereign rights over the waterway over the objections of its neighbors.
In 2016 an international court ruled in favor of Manila, concluding that Beijing’s claims have “no legal basis.” China dismissed the ruling as “illegal” and has built bases on many of the disputed reefs and islands.
Chinese vessels now routinely attack Filipino fishermen, as well as scientists trying to study the environmental impacts of Chinese base building, ramming their boats and firing high-pressure water cannons at them.
As Balikatan kicked off, Beijing was quick to criticize the exercise and Manila’s push to bolster military alliances. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters at a regular press briefing Monday that “what the Asia-Pacific region most needs is peace and tranquility, and what it least needs is the introduction of external forces to create division and confrontation.”
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Freelance photojournalist Edward Bungubung and Reuters contributed to this report
