Balikatan 2026. The USA and the Philippines have started joint exercises. There is China's reaction
“Regardless of challenges elsewhere in the world, the United States' attention is focused on the Indo-Pacific region and our unwavering commitment to the Philippines remains unwavering,” said Gen. Christian Wortman of the U.S. Marine Corps at the opening ceremony of the exercise.
The commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, General Romeo Brawner, emphasized that the goal is to build deterrence and “defend international law.”
The maneuvers, codenamed Balikatan, which means “shoulder to shoulder” in the Tagalog language used in the Philippines, will last until May 8 and will be carried out in provinces on the northern island of Luzon, near Taiwan and the disputed areas of the South China Sea. Planned, among others: simulated sea attack and fully coordinated air operations.
Beijing's reaction
The armed forces of France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand also actively participate in the exercises. Japanese Self-Defense Forces, whose presence has so far been limited to humanitarian aid operations, will fire missiles in this edition of the Balikatan exercise to sink a mock enemy ship – a vessel decommissioned – on the outskirts of the South China Sea, the AP reported.
Beijing reacted to the maneuvers. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that military cooperation should not undermine trust and stability in the region or be aimed at third countries. He also warned that “blindly committing to security issues” is playing with fire and will “backfire.”
China consistently claims the vast majority of the South China Sea. Beijing officially rejects the ruling of the international arbitration tribunal in this case. Due to territorial claims, serious incidents between Chinese and Filipino vessels regularly occur in these waters.
