Phl, US start 2-week Balikatan amid sea tension

Filipino and American soldiers began yesterday their two-week joint training exercises, resuming the annual activity cancelled last year – and scaled-down this year – due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

- MICHAEL PUNONGBAYAN

The joint exercises resumed amid rising tensions in the South China Sea sparked by the swarming of Chinese militia boats in Philippine waters, particularly around Julian Felipe Reef.

This year’s Balikatan exercises between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States military would involve 736 Filipino soldiers and some 225 American troops. Previous exercises involved as many as 7,600 soldiers.

AFP chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said this year’s events would include both virtual and physical exercises, although engagements requiring physical contact would be minimal. “There will be physical contact but it is minimal,” Sobejana said.

“The Balikatan exercise, since its launching in 1991, has been a treasure trove of learning opportunities for both Filipino and American soldiers and in recent years would also include our other allies here in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said at the opening rites at Camp Aguinaldo.

“The United States is proud to participate in the Balikatan exercise and we thank the Armed Forces of the Philippines for hosting US troops in ways that maintain the health and safety of both our militaries,” US embassy Chargé d’Affaires John Law said.