MANILA – Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Friday said the just concluded Balikatan exercises is a "direct investment" in the country's national defense as it beefs up its capability to protect the nation from all forms of threat.
"As we conclude 'Balikatan' 41, let us remember that this exercise ultimately represents, what this exercise ultimately represents for the Filipino people, it is a direct investment in national defense, strengthening our ability to protect our sovereignty, defend our territory, and respond effectively to crisis," he said.
This year's Balikatan ran from April 20 to May 8. Around 17,000 troops from the militaries of the Philippines, United States, Australia, Japan, Canada, France and New Zealand participated
Likewise, the AFP chief said the exercise highlighted that the U.S. is a reliable ally in defense cooperation especially in the Indo-Pacific Region.
"For the United States, it reflects a reliable alliance and a form of cooperation that contributes meaningfully to the stability in the Indo-Pacific. And for our allies and partners across the region and across the world, 'Balikatan' stands as a model of multilateral cooperation," he added.
Brawner said Balikatan is the Philippines' commitment to "building capability, reinforcing trust, and affirming our shared commitment to peace, security, and a rules-based international order."
This year's exercises were conducted across air, land, maritime, cyber space, electromagnetic spectrum, and information domains, he added.
"(This reflects) not only the strength of our alliance, but also our shared commitment to regional stability and collective security. Together, these activities demonstrated increasingly integrated forces capable of operating across domains with speed, coordination, and precision. More importantly, they reflect the AFP's continuing commitment to credible defense, interoperability with allies and partners, and the steady modernization of our capabilities," Brawner said.
Deterrence
As this developed, US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) chief Admiral Samuel Paparo said while Balikatan has "watershed moments," beefing up the deterrence capabilities of the participating forces remained the primary goal.
"We together have stood shoulder to shoulder for generations. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty," he added.
Paparo said he is pleased five more nations joined the exercises.
"Balikatan 2026 marks a strategic evolution from a bilateral exercise to a full-scale multinational mission rehearsal for the defense of the Republic of the Philippines," the USINDOPACOM chief stressed.
More missile platforms
As this developed, Brawner said the AFP is looking to acquire more missile weaponry similar to those utilized by the country's allies during the Balikatan drills.
"That is the future direction of the AFP as we modernize our capabilities. If you see, if you look at the modern warfare happening now between Ukraine and Russia, and in the Middle East between the United States and Iran, of course, Israel against Hezbollah. We see the heavy use of missile systems, of drones. And so the air, the integrated air and missile defense as well, has to come into the picture," he said.
Some of the missile systems used in this Balikatan include the U.S. Tomahawk missile system and the Japanese Type 88 anti-ship missile.
"For us to be able to have that capability to defend our archipelago from attacks, possible attacks from outside, then we will have to have these types of weapons," Brawner said.
"We believe that we have to develop our own capabilities so that we can defend the archipelago by ourselves," he added. (PNA)
