Around 8,900 military personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States Armed Forces will participate in the Balikatan 2022, the largest-ever iteration of the Philippine-led drills that will take place across Luzon from March 28 to April 8.
Major Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan, exercise director of the PH-US Balikatan 2022, said that there are 3,800 AFP members and 5,100 US military personnel that will train together in various areas of operation to enhance their interoperability.
“Exercise Balikatan is a testament to the strength of the Philippines and United States’ security relationship,” Gaerlan said.
“The experience gained in the exercise complements our security cooperation endeavors and will help to enhance existing mutual security efforts,” he added.
This year’s Balikatan will be a big bounce back compared to the scaled-down exercises last year where only 736 personnel joined from the AFP and 225 soldiers participated from the US military amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2020, the Balikatan drills had to be suspended due to the pandemic.
Now that the Covid-19 situation in the Philippines has improved, the AFP and the US military have decided to pursue the return of the drills, said Gaerlan.
The participating troops will conduct joint exercises in various areas of operation such as maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban operations, aviation operations, counter-terrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The exercise also includes a command post exercise which will “test the AFP and US forces’ ability to plan, command, and communicate with each other in a simulated environment.”
Gaerlan said the trainings will bolster the collective security and defensive capabilities of the alliance of the two countries.
The AFP and US military will also conduct multiple humanitarian and civic assistance projects during this year’s Balikatan such as the renovation of four elementary schools, multiple community health engagements, and exchange of advanced emergency rescue and lifesaving techniques.
“Balikatan” is a Tagalog word which means “shoulder-to-shoulder.”
Gaerlan said that this signifies the spirit of the exercise to “share the load together” and represents the alliance between the Philippines and the United States.
Since it started in 1991, Balikatan has been the cornerstone of the military cooperation between the two countries.