#Balikatan exercises

[skullivancrossbones]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Guerrero FFPS OC (@guerrero_ffps)

PROTEST SAN DIEGO - US OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES

[firstoccupier]

Philippine Navy's Response to Chinese Warships: Key Insights

Rising Tensions in the West Philippine Sea: What’s Happening? The situation in the West Philippine Sea is becoming more serious as tensions rise between the Philippines and China. Recently, the Philippine Navy announced that they spotted a large group of Chinese warships near the northern coast of Luzon. This news comes amid concerns about China’s actions in the region, which many believe…

[drone9futuristic]

US Army Tests Long-Endurance Drones and Balloons in the Philippines: Pushing Boundaries in Multi-Domain Operations

The US Army is actively exploring the potential of long-endurance drones and high-altitude balloons in the Indo-Pacific region. During the recent Balikatan military exercise in the Philippines (April 11-May 9, 2024), the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) utilized these innovative technologies to gather valuable data and experiment with their tactical applications.

[carlocarrasco]

Chinese vessels spotted near Balikatan training area off Palawan

Since it formally started on April 22, Balikatan 2024 resulted in several military exercises and activities involving armed elements of the Philippines, the United States and France. This of course caught the attention of China and according to a recent Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article, several Chinese vessels were spotted near a training area off Palawan. To put things in perspective,…

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

By Vijay Prashad

During Balikatan, the defense ministers of the four main nations met in Honolulu, Hawaii to discuss the political implications of these military exercises off the coast of China. Australia’s Richard Marles, Japan’s Kihara Minoru, the Philippines’ Gilberto Teodoro, and the United States’ Lloyd Austin met for their second meeting to discuss their collaboration in the region that they call the Indo-Pacific. It was at the edges of this meeting that the public relations teams of these ministers began to float the term “Squad” to refer to these four countries. While they did not formally announce the creation of a new bloc in East Asia, this new nickname intends to provide a de facto announcement of its existence.

[sossupummit]

Balikatan 2025 turns Philippines into launchpad for US war—NDFP April 21, 2025 The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) denounced this year’s Balikatan military exercises as a dangerous escalation…

[rayjideguia]

On October 11, 2014, Jennifer Laude, a Filipino trans woman, was killed by US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, whose presence in Zambales was made possible by the Visiting Forces Agreement. 

In September 2020, then President Rodrigo Duterte, known for his misogyny and whose regime was marked by extrajudicial killings from his drug war and anti-communist crusade, granted Pemberton absolute pardon, cutting short his time served by four years. Months prior in the same year, during the height of the pandemic, the Congress railroaded the passing of the anti-terrorism bill amidst rampant red-tagging of activists and dissidents; LGBTQIA+ protesters were arrested, detained, and harassed by police. 

Under the current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the largest Balikatan Exercise took place in 2023, a military exercise that was bolstered by counterterrorism training since the War on Terror campaign by the US. His father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., serving as the blueprint of violence and repression for Duterte, formalized the export of Filipino labor through the 1974 Labor Code in an attempt to stimulate the struggling economy, resulting in the human trafficking of Filipinos to this day.

This is the political milieu that informs the narrative of “Balikbayan. Through the protagonist Stella, a trans woman, whose motivation is to find her missing sister Katrina, supposedly teaching in Texas but ended up as a victim of tokhang in the Philippines eleven years later, the play tackles the entanglements of the US War on Drugs and Terror, neoliberalism, and extrajudicial killings under the Duterte regime, and how women, both trans and cis, are subjugated and dehumanized by the same system.

Like our page and save the date! 

April 13, 2024, 7 PM @ IGB Gallery, UP Diliman 

#Balikbayan #Balikbayan2024

[pannaginip]

News5 on Twitter @News5PH:

Nagprotesta ang mga mangingisda ng PAMALAKAYA sa tapat ng Camp Aguinaldo sa Quezon City nitong Biyernes, May 10. Tinutulan nila ang pagpatupad ng no-sail zone sa ilang bahagi ng Ilocos Sur at Zambales sa gitna ng Balikatan Exercise.

[The fisherfolk of PAMALAKAYA protested in front of Camp Aguinaldo in QC this Friday, May 10. They are opposing the implementation of the no-sail zones in several parts of Ilocos Sur and Zambales amidst the Balikatan Exercise.]

Anila, mahigit 13,000 mangingisda at tindero ng isda ang apektado dahil sa no-sail zone.

[According to them, more than 13k fisherfolk and fish vendors will be affected by the no-sail zones.]

Pinangambahan din nila ang maaaring epekto ng katatapos lang na joint military exercises sa marine ecosystem.

[They are also worried about the possible effects the joint military exercises may have on the marine ecosystem.]

📷: PAMALAKAYA (Facebook)

2024 May 10

[tanksandbeyond]

A Cadillac Gage Commando (left) and LAV-300 from the Philippine Marine Corps prior to a dry-fire rehearsal as part of Exercise Balikatan at Colonel Ernesto Ravina Air Base, Tarlac, Philippines, May 12th, 2018.

[military1st]

Philippine Marine during Exercise Balikatan 23 in Santa Juliana, Philippines.

The U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jennifer Andrade (2023).

[rhk111sblog]

The former BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) Vessel of the Philippine Navy (PN) which was supposed to be used as the Target Vessel for the Maritime Strike (MARSTRIKE) Event of the ongoing Balikatan 40-2025 Exercise sank 55 km off the Coast of San Antonio in Zambales before the Event could even start.

The Vessel reportedly just started to take in Water while traveling to the Site, leading to its sinking. No Personnel were injured in the sinking.

You can access the Report here on the Facebook Page of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP): https://web.facebook.com/armedforcesofthephilippines/posts/pfbid02UQ1xN49dX1EFvn39H6GpETvTYrb4E6pzrrJdJYLWkgm6a77ESHKDht2kdgDfPXirl

MY THOUGHTS: Well that was quite a letdown, most if not all of the build up in the Press, and all the Effort and Resources poured into the Sinking Event ended up almost for nothing. I guess one could say that the Ship itself just didn’t want to go out as a Target Practice Vessel.

The “Conspiracy Theorist” in me though can’t help but think if the United States (US) or a Pinoy Dog of theirs just changed their Mind about using that Ship as a Target Vessel at the last minute, causing the Organizers to just sink it in a more dignified Way.

After all, it did have a very distinguished and very long Career over several Navies, and more importantly, it was a US MADE SHIP. Remember that last Year of 2024, they used a Chinese-made Ship, the late BRP Lake Caliraya (AF-81) as Target Vessel and sank it.

I was about to say that good that they used a US-made Ship to sink this Time around, but obviously that didn’t happen now after it just reportedly sank on its own before it could be hit with Weapons. Anyway, we will probably never know if that really was the Case. But still, Rest in Peace (RIP) to PS-19 …

SOURCE: Armed Forces of the Philippines Facebook Page Post, 05/05/25 – 1327H {Archived Link}

[skullivancrossbones]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Guerrero FFPS OC (@guerrero_ffps)

END THE WAR ON MIGRANT WORKERS!

[firstoccupier]

U.S. and Philippines Gear Up for Major Military Exercises in April

WPS.News Special ReportDateline: Manila, Philippines – April 19, 2025 00:36​ Rising Tensions in the West Philippine Sea: Manila Accuses Beijing of Escalation The Philippine government has intensified its denunciation of China’s activities in the West Philippine Sea, particularly around Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal, citing aggressive maneuvers by Chinese vessels. A recent incident…

[cavenewstimestoday]

US and Philippine forces cancel ship-sinking drill after World War II-era target prematurely sinks

World In this handout photo, provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Office (PAO), the decommissioned Philippine Navy BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) takes on water before sinking while being positioned as vessel target prompting the cancellation of a live-fire drill as part of a joint US-Philippines military exercises called Balikatan or “shoulder to shoulder” approximately 30…

[carlocarrasco]

Balikatan (US-Philippines joint military exercise) set to start on April 22, 2024

Balikatan, the annual joint military exercise of the Philippines and the United States of America, will officially begin on April 22 and last until May 10, 2024 with the participation of at least sixteen thousand troops, according to a Manila Bulletin news report. This year’s edition of Balikatan includes activities that will take place outside of the territorial waters of the Philippines. To…

[new876868767]

[ad_1] MANILA – In the clearest signal yet of policy continuity from Biden to Trump in Asia, the US and Philippines have kicked off their largest-ever joint Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises, including drills simulating “full-scale battle scenarios” with China.As many as 6,000 Filipino soldiers will join 12,000 US troops for the 40th edition of the exercises, scheduled to run from April 21 through May 9.Significantly, the US will deploy to the Philippines a second Typhon mid-range missile system, a weapon it brought for last year’s drills and left in place to Beijing’s chagrin.Both Japan and Australia, which, like the US, also have visiting forces agreements with Manila, are directly participating in the exercises, while more than half a dozen European countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, are attending as observers.Aside from escalating tensions in the South China Sea, most recently over the Sandy Cay in the Spratly group of islands, the Philippine military has also indicated its potential involvement in any war scenario with China over neighboring Taiwan.Earlier this month, Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner made it clear that his country wouldn’t be a neutral bystander if China took kinetic action against the self-governing island.Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province that must be “reunified” with the mainland. Chinese President Xi Jinping has told the People’s Liberation Army to be ready for a conflict with the US over Taiwan by 2027.Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, Global Times, quoted Chinese military affairs expert Zhang Junshe saying that the Philippines seeks to leverage external forces to advance its “illegal territorial expansion in the South China Sea.” Such maneuvers, the expert said, will not only fail to achieve their objectives but also incur significant consequences.This year’s Balikatan exercises involve drills both close to disputed areas in the South China Sea as well as near Taiwan. Participating nations will deploy some of their most advanced weapons systems to enhance interoperability and signal shared resolve against China’s rising threats in the region.The Philippine Navy (PN) will deploy its most potent anti-ship weapon, the South Korean-made LIG NEX 1 C-Star “sea-skimming” surface-to-surface cruise missile. It will reportedly be deployed during the “maritime strike” (MARSTRIKE) portion of the drills that will simulate the sinking of a decommissioned ship on May 5.The Philippines will also be deploying its new batch of Indian-made Brahmos supersonic missiles.Apart from the Typhon missile system, the Americans will also send the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) anti-ship missile launcher, marking its first-ever deployment to the Philippines.The NMESIS missile system in the Philippines. Image: X Screengrab The system has a 185-kilometer range, meaning it could threaten vessels entering the Luzon Strait if based on the northernmost islands in Batanes directly across from Taiwan, Naval News reported. The drills will not fire the system’s missiles but will conduct simulated fire missions, according to Philippine media reports.By enhancing maritime security interoperability and steadily establishing a “Wall of Missiles” – stretching from Guam and southern Japan all the way to northern Philippines – the US aims to constrain China’s territorial ambitions through an “integrated deterrence” strategy.“By deploying two types of missile systems [Typhon and NMESIS], the US has established a comprehensive long-, medium- and short-range strike network, with a maximum range of 1,800 kilometers, covering China’s southeastern coastal areas, the Taiwan Straits, the Bashi Channel and the northern South China Sea,” Zhang told the Global Times. “In the event of a conflict, these locations where missiles are deployed will inevitably become targets for counterstrikes,” said Zhang. “The Philippines’ approach essentially amounts to opening the door to a predator and will only backfire.”The exercises were launched shortly after US Defense Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s visit to Manila, where he reiterated Washington’s “iron-clad commitment” to its Southeast Asian mutual defense treaty ally and emphasized the need for enhancing maritime deterrence against China.With crucial Philippine midterm elections scheduled next month, the Philippines and its allies are also focused on securing the nation against malign foreign interference, including Chinese disinformation campaigns targeting US-leaning President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s administration.Top Filipino authorities have directly accused China of backing candidates sympathetic to Beijing’s positions as well as allegedly sowing disinformation ahead of the polls, which are being viewed as a referendum on Marcos Jr’s tenure so far.Earlier this month, top Philippine general alleged that “communist China is already conducting united front works in our country.” The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Romeo Brawner went so far as to claim that the Asian superpower is “already infiltrating our institutions, our schools, our businesses, our churches, even our ranks in the military.”Though he didn’t provide specific details, the Philippine military chief warned against “cyber warfare, information warfare, cognitive warfare, [and] political warfare” by China and its alleged proxies. Accordingly, cybersecurity was a chief focus of the Balikatan exercises’ opening days. Last week, Filipino and US troops conducted The Cyber Defense Exercise (Cydex) across multiple key locations, which included Camp Aguinaldo in Manila, home to the Philippine Department of National Defense; the Western Command in Palawan, which covers Philippine naval operations in the hotly disputed Spratlys; and in Clark Air Base and Subic in Zambales, which faces the South China Sea and previously served as the site of America’s largest overseas bases.Colombian Armed Forces and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force were among the observers who attended the Cyber Command’s Cybersecurity Incident Response Team, underscoring an emerging pan-Pacific security alliance with the Philippines at its forefront.The highlight of the Balikatan exercises, however, will be maritime drills with an increasingly clear focus on preparing for a potential war with China.The allies kicked off the annual exercises with a live-fire maneuver 21 nautical miles west of San Felipe, Zambales, a strategically situated province close to the contested Scarborough Shoal. The disputed feature has been under China’s de facto control following a months-long naval standoff with the Philippine Navy in 2012.This year will also see the simulated sinking of the ex-BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19), a decommissioned Philippine vessel, while the Philippine Air Force, US Air Force, US Marine Corps and the Australian Defense Force will partake in a series of drills aimed at enhancing joint responses to major contingencies.The allies will also display their growing missile power in the region. Last year, for the first time, Philippine naval forces used a C-Star missile to sink a target vessel in the waters off the coast of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, which faces Taiwan.The Korean-made C-Star anti-ship missile, installed on BRP Jose Rizal and its sister ship and the BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), increases the Philippine navy’s firepower’s range from as low as 3 to 16 km to as high as 180 to 200 km.The ships are expected to be equipped with twice as many C-Star launch tubes on top of their anti-submarine torpedoes, anti-air missiles and a 76mm main gun. The C-Star missile, along with aerial assets from allied nations, namely the Philippine Air Force’s FA-50PH fighter jets and the US military’s F-16s and F-35s, will be involved in the sinking of the Vietnam-era BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) during this year’s penultimate drills.The increasingly complex, sophisticated and geographically expansive nature of this year’s Balikatan exercises underscores not only shared threat perceptions by the US and the Philippines but also rising fears of a major conflict in the region, either over Taiwan or over disputed features in the South China Sea.US and Philippine troops on the march in this year’s Balikatan exercises. Image: X“Start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan,” General Brawner told Philippine troops during a visit to Northern Luzon Command headquarters earlier month.  “Because if something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved,” he added, underscoring the potential need “to rescue” a quarter million Filipinos now working in Taiwan.“These are the areas where we perceive the possibility of an attack. I do not want to sound alarmist, but we have to prepare,” Brawner told Filipino troops during his early April visit. “It’s very important that we prepare for any eventuality,” he added.Accordingly, some of the Balikatan exercises will take place in northern Philippine waters facing Taiwan.Under the expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), the US will rotationally position troops and advanced weapons systems in northernmost provinces such as Cagayan, Isabela and likely even in Batanes.Marcos Jr’s home province, Ilocos Norte, temporarily hosted America’s Typhon missile batteries, which are capable of targeting military bases across southern China.During the Balikatan exercises, the allied states, Brawner said, will conduct “full battle test” of “all of the plans, all of the doctrines, all of the procedures that we have developed in the past years” to prepare for a potential conflict in Taiwan.Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X at @RichHeydarian [ad_2] Source link