MANILA, Philippines – No further proof was needed. As a simple ceremony on Friday, April 28, marked the close of the largest ever joint Balikatan exercises between the Philippines and the United States, the country’s coast guard revealed it was again bullied by Chinese vessels in the Ayungin Shoal.

And as the latest bullying in Philippine waters punctuated the Balikatan closing ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo, the chief of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said they were eyeing even bigger war games with the US for 2024.

“What we’ll be planning after this is next year’s iteration. Cycle ito, pagkatapos nito (this is a cycle, after this), there is a whole year of preparation of what needs to be improved or refined,”  AFP chief General Andres Centino, told the press at the sidelines at the end of the 38th Balikatan exercises. 

“Kung nakita natin, if there’s a need, dagdagan natin (If we look at it, and there’s a need, let’s make it bigger). It would be better,” Centino said.

Although military officials previously said the expanded exercises were not targeted toward any country, the rising tension in the region did not go unnoticed at the conclusion of the exercises held at the general headquarters of the AFP. 

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Prior to Friday’s closing of Balikatan, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) released information about an April 23 incident involving a near-crash between Chinese and Philippine vessels. The PCG also disclosed that it spotted nearly 100 alleged Chinese maritime vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

“In the past few years, we have seen more threats to the region than we have in the past few decades combined. These include challenges to the rules-based international order via provocations in the South China Sea, as well as global issues like climate change, environmental degradation, and water scarcity,” US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said.

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‘No ordinary Balikatan’

Retired general Carlito Galvez, the officer-in-charge of the Department of Defense, said that this was a Balikatan of many firsts.

“This was no ordinary iteration [of Balikatan]. Aside from being the largest exercise so far with 17,000 Filipino and American troops, with 111 Australian troops, it’s the first with live fire drills and the first where a president stayed,” Galvez said.

He mentioned the last Filipino commander-in-chief to attend the Balikatan was the late president Benigno Aquino III. 

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Aquino’s successor, Rodrigo Duterte, did not attend the Balikatan and had even threatened to cancel the war games.

Duterte’s disinterested attitude towards Balikatan was part of his China pivot during his administration.

Galvez also said this was the first time participants had cyber defense training as well. 

The retired AFP chief also said said the two militaries boosted their ground, air, and maritime capabilities through the war games, which would continue through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and other agreements between the two countries. 

Centino said that aside from equipment and training, the US military also benefitted from the AFP sharing its experience.

“What I can say is that sa side natin – I can only speak for the AFP – maganda ang experience because it’s a top level quality training kasi siguro dehado [tayo] sa equipment ano, but marami tayong experience that we can share also,” Centino said. (The experience we had is good because it’s a top quality training and maybe because we are at a disadvantage with equipment, we have many experiences that we can share also)

“But I think in the overall exchange, we benefited from these activities,” he said.

Aside from military exercises, the Balikatan also held humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness projects.

Marcos will hold talks with US President Joe Biden on Monday, May 1. Marcos has said he would press his US counterpart to “make clear” the extent of Washington’s commitment to protect the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty amid rising regional tensions. The White House said the US would “reaffirm its ironclad commitments to the defense of the Philippines.” – Rappler.com