Balikatan 2026 showcased the Philippines' expanding defence network, strengthening deterrence and interoperability amid rising tensions with China
Image Source: ANI
On 20 April 2026, the annual Balikatan, a military exercise between the Philippines and the United States, officially commenced. One of the most crucial exercises between the two, the Balikatan spans over three weeks of diverse operations in multiple domains across the entire Philippine archipelago. It aims to improve interoperability, joint preparedness, and collective response to external threats and disasters.
While last year’s iteration centred on a full-battle test, the 2026 exercise focused on full-spectrum operations. It was also the largest in terms of partner participation. While Australia has long taken part in the drills, Japan, Canada, France, and New Zealand also joined, illustrating the Southeast Asian nation’s robust and functional security network in the face of geopolitical uncertainty. China is viewed as a negative development given its interest in dominating the waters of the Western Pacific and, especially, the South China Sea.
Amid China’s growing illegal and expansive claims in the South China Sea, the Philippines has become a fulcrum for maritime security cooperation among like-minded partners in and out of the Indo-Pacific region. However, as previously stated by the Secretary of National Defense, Gilberto Teodoro, the Philippines seeks to push these partnerships beyond symbolism and towards functional collaboration.
The reallocation of US defence assets and munitions from the Western Pacific to the Middle East has reinforced this fear amongst Washington’s allies in the region.
The expanded participation at Balikatan is a clear illustration of the institutionalised security relations. All participants are from nations that have reciprocal access and visiting forces arrangements with Manila. Australia entered into a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) with the Philippines in 2007. Manila has recently forged similar pacts with like-minded partner countries such as the Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan (2024) and SOVFAs with New Zealand (2025), Canada (2025), and France (2026). These agreements are intended to streamline defence cooperation, bypass traditional bureaucratic hurdles, and improve the frequency of military-to-military exercises. Participation in Balikatan is therefore a testament to the commitment these countries have to their growing security ties with the Philippines.
This year’s Balikatan also coincided with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. There is a growing concern in the Indo-Pacific that Washington is diverting strategic attention away from the region. The reallocation of US defence assets and munitions from the Western Pacific to the Middle East has reinforced this fear amongst Washington’s allies in the region. However, the active presence and participation of over 10,000 American troops in Balikatan painted a different picture regarding US interests in the region.
The Philippines-US alliance has also become increasingly devoted to narrowing the gap between traditional defence and economic coordination. In December 2025, the US Senate approved a landmark bill that would allocate USD$ 2.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grant assistance to the Philippines from 2026 to 2030. More recently, on 16 April, the US announced that the Philippines will be an integral pillar of the Pax Silica project—a US-led economic framework that aims to improve the economic resilience of allies and partners by securing the supply chains for artificial intelligence (AI), critical minerals, and semiconductors. Accordingly, the US State Department said that both nations agreed to establish a 4,000-acre “Economic Security Zone” industrial hub within the previously established Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) at New Clark City in Tarlac.
China expressed its displeasure with the security cooperation of like-minded nations in the Western Pacific, such as the Balikatan. During a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun blamed the US, the Philippines, and Japan for disrupting regional peace through cooperative security activities. He went further to say that these countries were "playing with fire" and that such activities were likely to backfire.
In a parallel display of force, Beijing launched a military exercise in the East China Sea a day before the commencement of Balikatan. The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command dispatched its 133rd naval task group, including a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer and the aircraft carrier Liaoning, into the Western Pacific. While China termed this as a “routine training activity", the timing and scale suggested that it was planned to disrupt Balikatan and demonstrate its far seas operational capabilities. China also mobilised its maritime militia across the greater South China Sea to monitor the Balikatan exercise.
The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command dispatched its 133rd naval task group, including a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer and the aircraft carrier Liaoning, into the Western Pacific.
China have sought to limit the active collaboration of like-minded nations in the Western Pacific. Its displeasure with such exercise is hardly surprising given that it has resorted to coercive and unlawful activities in the past that run counter to principles enshrined in UNCLOS.
In response to China's intolerance, Teodoro stated that Balikatan is an exercise for joint preparedness, deterrence, and resilience. He added that China's disdain for these exercises only underscores its malicious intent to weaken the Philippines' external defence posture and, eventually, to reshape the regional maritime order to its advantage. The Balikatan is a crucial pillar of the established order. Thus, only revisionists will have problems with status-quo-oriented activities.
Similarly, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, emphasised that Beijing's statements would not deter the Philippines from fulfilling its mandate to secure its waters through national efforts and in cooperation with its allies and partners. He assured that the AFP is prepared for any escalatory actions China might engage in amid the ongoing exercise.
Ultimately, Balikatan was significant not only for its scale but also for the operationalisation of the Philippines' defence network cooperation. The exercise points to Washington’s intent to continue investing in collaborations that would improve its position in the region. However, such activities are likely to provoke China. Nevertheless, it provided the Philippines and its partners an opportunity to forge a unified deterrence model in the Indo-Pacific. In this regard, Manila must stay on course and maximise the utility of such exercises for its long-term security interests in the region.
Don McLain Gill is a Philippines-based geopolitical analyst, author, and lecturer at the Department of International Studies of De La Salle University (DLSU).
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Don McLain Gill is a Philippines-based geopolitical analyst author and lecturer at the Department of International Studies De La Salle University (DLSU). ...
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