Armies of the Philippines and the United States (US) will begin a two-week-long joint military drill today. The drill, known as Balikatan (“shoulder to shoulder”) 2021 (BK-21), is expected to test the readiness of both militaries in responding to threats such as natural disasters and militant extremist attacks. The opening ceremony of the exercise is being held at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City today.
The exercise was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but its resumption was announced by the Philippine military chief, Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, on Sunday. “The exercises officially start tomorrow and will last for about two weeks,” he said. This announcement came after defence secretaries of the two countries held a phone call to “reaffirm their shared commitment to the US-Philippines alliance”. In relation to the phonecall, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement that US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin III and his Filipino counterpart, Delfin Lorenzana, “discussed the situation in the South China Sea and the recent massing of People’s Republic of China maritime militia vessels at Juan Felipe (Whitsun) Reef.”
However, unlike the past years, this year’s drills will see the participation of only 1,700 troops, of which 700 are from the US and 1,000 are from the Philippines, due to COVID-19 related restrictions. Previous Balikatan exercises have involved the participation of as many as 7,600 soldiers. “We will be conducting (the exercises), but it will be different from previous years because of the pandemic. There will be a virtual (portion) of the exercise… There will be physical contact but it is minimal,” the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff added.
The joint drills between Washington and Manila come against the backdrop of rising Chinese presence in the South China Sea region. Only last month, Lieutenant General Sobejana reported that around 220 boats belonging to China were first detected by the Philippines’ coast guard on March 7, following which Manila had urged Beijing to recall its vessels. However, a military aerial patrol over the reef in late March found 183 of them were still parked at the shallow coral region that lies about 175 nautical miles (324 kilometres) west of Bataraza town in the western Philippines island province of Palawan.
The boats remain parked at the Whitsun Reef (known as the Julian Felipe Reef in the Philippines), which lies within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). “The president said we are really concerned. Any country will be concerned with that number of ships,” President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesperson, Harry Roque, had then told a regular news conference. The concern was validated by the US, which has called China out for its aggressiveness in the region. The statement released by the US Embassy in Manila accused China of using “maritime militia to intimidate, provoke, and threaten other nations, which undermines peace and security in the region.” It further reiterated its commitment to Manila, saying, “We stand with the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in Asia.” The latest joint military drills are further evidence of the US’ increasing role in maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.
The exercise was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but its resumption was announced by the Philippine military chief, Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, on Sunday. “The exercises officially start tomorrow and will last for about two weeks,” he said. This announcement came after defence secretaries of the two countries held a phone call to “reaffirm their shared commitment to the US-Philippines alliance”. In relation to the phonecall, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement that US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin III and his Filipino counterpart, Delfin Lorenzana, “discussed the situation in the South China Sea and the recent massing of People’s Republic of China maritime militia vessels at Juan Felipe (Whitsun) Reef.”
However, unlike the past years, this year’s drills will see the participation of only 1,700 troops, of which 700 are from the US and 1,000 are from the Philippines, due to COVID-19 related restrictions. Previous Balikatan exercises have involved the participation of as many as 7,600 soldiers. “We will be conducting (the exercises), but it will be different from previous years because of the pandemic. There will be a virtual (portion) of the exercise… There will be physical contact but it is minimal,” the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff added.
The joint drills between Washington and Manila come against the backdrop of rising Chinese presence in the South China Sea region. Only last month, Lieutenant General Sobejana reported that around 220 boats belonging to China were first detected by the Philippines’ coast guard on March 7, following which Manila had urged Beijing to recall its vessels. However, a military aerial patrol over the reef in late March found 183 of them were still parked at the shallow coral region that lies about 175 nautical miles (324 kilometres) west of Bataraza town in the western Philippines island province of Palawan.
The boats remain parked at the Whitsun Reef (known as the Julian Felipe Reef in the Philippines), which lies within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). “The president said we are really concerned. Any country will be concerned with that number of ships,” President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesperson, Harry Roque, had then told a regular news conference. The concern was validated by the US, which has called China out for its aggressiveness in the region. The statement released by the US Embassy in Manila accused China of using “maritime militia to intimidate, provoke, and threaten other nations, which undermines peace and security in the region.” It further reiterated its commitment to Manila, saying, “We stand with the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in Asia.” The latest joint military drills are further evidence of the US’ increasing role in maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.