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Teodoro wants to see exercise line-up, terrain for 'Balikatan' 2026

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno
May 9, 2025, 2:48 pm

MANILA -- Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said he wants to see the choices of exercises and terrain for next year's 'Balikatan' drills, as the annual exercise between Filipino and American military forces formally concluded Friday.

"Now, this being the 40th iteration which culminated in the full battle exercise, what the President (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.), (National Security Adviser) Secretary (Eduardo) Año, and I would want to see is not only the execution of next year's exercises, but more importantly the choice of exercises, what you are going to be doing and where you are going to be doing them, what terrain you are going to operate in, what environments you are going to operate in," he said in his speech during the exercise's closing rites at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Aside from this, Teodoro also wants to see how "Balikatan" 2026 will interact with the civil infrastructure works, supply routes, and other civilian infrastructure.

He added that this is necessary to determine whether the exercises are aligned with the needs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the plans of the Philippine government for the institution next year.

"So, next year will not merely be an exercise in execution and choice of exercises, but we will go deep down into the assumptions on why you are training shoulder-to-shoulder to do a particular activity. And I think that will enhance our interoperability, not only (on) the tactical level, but more importantly on the operational and of course, on the strategic levels too," the DND chief stressed.

Deterrence capabilities boosted

As this developed, I Marine Expeditionary Force commander Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm said the just-concluded "Balikatan" exercises have advanced the Philippines and US' capability to "deter, respond, and prevail."

"From live-fire drills to humanitarian missions, from maritime security in Palawan and Northern Luzon to sea denial in the Luzon Straits with the deployment of NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) to the (Batanes) Island, we advanced our capability to deter, respond, and prevail," he added.

Aside from this, Cederholm said the US also integrated cutting-edge air and missile defense systems like MADIS (Marine Air Defense Integrated System), Avenger (Air Defense System) and Spyder (Philippine ground air based defense system) , strengthening the ability of the two nations to survive and win in contested environments.

"Together with the AFP, we put the D in deterrence, defense, and don't mess with us. It's important to highlight (that) 'Balikatan' is also about relationships. Months of planning with local communities laid the foundation for meaningful civic engagement. Together, we have improved lives across five project sites, providing more than 1,600 medical and dental exams and invested USD2.5 million into schools, clinics, and health facilities, directly impacting 75,000 Filipino citizens," he added.

This year's "Balikatan" started last April 21 and ended on May 9.

Around 14,000 Filipino, American and other allied troops took part in the activities. (PNA)