PH-US Balikatan 2025 ends with strong message for 'provocateurs'

"Don't mess with us." This was the stern warning given by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States Armed Forces to provocateurs in the Indo-Pacific region as they officially wrapped up the 40th edition of the Balikatan

- By MARTIN SADONGDONG

Exercises—their largest annual joint military drill—on Friday, May 9, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City following three weeks of intensive training nationwide.

The closing ceremony was graced by Department of National Defense (DND) Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr., AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., and US Marine Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm, commander of US Joint Task Force Balikatan.

In his speech, Cederholm noted that Balikatan has stood as a testament to the strength of the US and Philippines alliance, which is “rooted in shared values and beliefs, shaped by history, and vital to the future of a prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific” region.