Manila, Philippines – More than 1,700 soldiers from the Philippines, the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada and the United Kingdom are set to participate in the most expansive 41st iteration of Balikatan exercises scheduled to begin this April 20 to May 8.
At the official start of the Balikatan exercises at Camp Aguinaldo, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. formally declared the opening of the seven-nation joint military drills.
According to Brawner, Balikatan is an investment by the government to defend sovereignty, respond to crisis and ensure the future of the country.
Balikatan includes multilateral maritime exercises to be conducted in the highly disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea.
Also expected are integrated air and defense, and counter landing live-fire exercises, and maritime strikes in Northern Luzon facing the Taiwan Strait.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is scheduled to attend a maritime strike in Paoay, Ilocos Norte set on May 6, where Japanese forces are scheduled to fire a Type 88 ground-to-surface missile – targeting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship that will be sunk and targeted during the exercises.
Over the past two years, the Philippines has signed Visiting Forces and similar agreements with Japan, New Zealand, Canada and France aimed at facilitating their participation in joint military exercises.
The Balikatan is a long-standing annual exercise between the AFP and the US military that aims to strengthen the established alliance, develop the combined force and demonstrate the two countries’ commitment to security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of United States-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.—Alvin Pelobello, Eurotv News