A missile is launched from a US high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) in this screengrab from a video attributed to the US Marine Corps and uploaded on April 20, 2025 for the opening of the 2025 Balikatan Exercises between the Philippines and United States armed forces. (Courtesy: U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Brian Knowles via Exercise Balikatan)
Nearly 20 countries will observe this year’s ‘Balikatan’ as the Philippines and long-time treaty ally United States officially opened the 40th iteration of the annual war games on Monday, April 21, to reinforce their defense partnership amid contemporary challenges.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner, Jr. led the opening ceremonies at Camp Aguinaldo. The series of military drills will run until May 9 in various areas across Luzon.
“Our operations span complex joint endeavors, including missile defense, counterlanding live fires and maritime strike capabilities, alongside humanitarian efforts and infrastructure projects that directly benefit our local communities,” Brawner said.
“We will demonstrate not just our will to uphold our mutual defense treaty in existence since 1951 but our matchless capability to do so,” US Marine Corps Lieutenant General James Glynn added.
Among the nations to observe the drills were Brunei, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom and Vietnam.
“The International Observers Program aims to showcase select joint and combined Balikatan events to partner nations, support strategic bilateral messaging, promote diverse defense engagement, and serve as a platform to expand the exercise into multilateral engagements,” the AFP said.
Approximately 6,000 AFP personnel were deployed for the drills, mainly from Northern Luzon Command and Western Command. For the US, they deployed approximately 12,000 soldiers, including support staff.
Aside from the Philippines and US, several partner nations also deployed smaller contingents—Australia with about 200 personnel, Japan (56), the UK (11), and both France and Canada with two personnel each.
