This year’s Balikatan Exercise or the annual joint military exercise between the Philippines and the United States was officially closed on Friday.
Department of National Defense (DND) chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr. in his speech during a ceremony said he was impressed with the exercise and he joked about how assigned target vessel decommissioned BRP Miguel Malvar sank before a maritime strike.
“I’m very impressed with the deterrent effect of these exercises because even before the live fire exercise, Miguel Malvar wouldn’t have wanted to have felt the combined efforts of our forces and took a leave beforehand,” he added.
Teodoro pointed out that the Philippines needs to be resilient amid forces “whose perceptions of what good faith are may differ from ours.” He noted that “strong fences make for good neighbors.”
“When faced with challenges from forces of different persuasions who do not understand the rule of law, who do not understand good faith and whose perceptions of what good faith are may differ from ours, the best way to make ourselves more resilient is to build strong fences,” he said.
“These exercises together with exercises of, with, and amongst our partners and future partners are part of those fence posts that we need to build in order to deter any malign actor from interfering with what international law provides each and every one of us,” he added.
Armed Forces of the Philippine (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner said participants exhibited joint capabilities ranging from live fire operations, cyber defense, maritime security activities, humanitarian assistance efforts.
“Balikatan is not merely a series of military exercises. It is a demonstration of enduring partnerships and collaborative resolve,” Brawner said in his speech.
“It embodies our collective readiness to act in unison, underscoring that our greatest strength lies in unity. Moreover, this exercise reaffirms our dedication to peace, stability, and resilience across the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
US’ I Marine Expeditionary Force commanding general Lieutenant General Michael Cederholm said US and Filipino forces trained with Australia, Japan, and 18 observer nations during the Balikatan.
“This year, we reaffirmed a critical truth. Our alliances and partnerships are a strategic advantage in any scenario, be it conflict, crisis, or humanitarian response,” he said.
“Together, we executed complex training across the archipelago. Together, we are building readiness for today and resilience for tomorrow,” he added.
Balikatan started on April 21 with around 17,000 troops expected to join. For this year’s Balikatan, the Philippine and US troops engaged in a full battle exercise. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
