Balikatan Spox Reiterates: Largest US-PH Military Drills Not Targeted Toward Any Country

As the United States and the Philippines wrap up their largest-ever joint military drills, known as the Balikatan exercise, with a live-fire exercise held in San Antonio, Zambales, a spokesperson for the exercise said that the drills were not aimed at China or any other specific country.

This comes as Col. Michael Logico said that the purpose of the exercise was to challenge and improve the capabilities of both militaries, as well as to train in accordance with their treaty obligations.

The live-fire exercise involved the coordination of ground and air-based weapons systems to detect, identify, target, and engage a decommissioned Philippine vessel located 12 nautical miles off the coast of Zambales.

It was the first time the two countries had conducted a joint live-fire exercise in the hotly contested waters near Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed almost entirely by China.

However, the US and Philippine militaries did not fire missiles and artillery toward Scarborough Shoal during the exercise.

The exercise was attended by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., marking the first time in 12 years that a Philippine leader had attended the annual joint military drills.

The move showed close defense cooperation between the US and the Philippines.

The Balikatan exercise involved over 17,000 soldiers from the US, the Philippines, and Australia. It was the final field training of the three-week-long drills. The exercise also involved the use of an MQ-9 Reaper, which collects intelligence against targets using wide-range sensors. The MQ-9 Reaper was used to observe and assess the shots fired by the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) from the coast.

The exercise comes amid growing tension over the South China Sea and Taiwan as Marcos is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House next week to discuss the issue. (GFB)