United States Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson lauded the success of the largest war games between the Philippines and the United States this year, which were highlighted by an "innovation" in the "evolution" of Washington and Manila's military ties. At the conclusion of the 38th iteration of the "Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder)" Exercises between troops of both sides, Carlson said another "milestone" has been made. Over 17,000 US and Philippine forces, along with Australia's, held military exercises for the past weeks, which increased both sides' "capability to work together on land, at sea, and in the air," Carlson said. Both forces also completed multiple humanitarian projects to improve infrastructure, enhance medical response and strengthen ties with local communities, she added. "In addition to being unprecedented in terms of size, our forces also introduced cyber and space elements to the exercise scenario, showing our seven-decade-old alliance is constantly evolving to address 21st-century threats," she said at the closing ceremony on Friday. According to Carlson, a US-Philippines military alliance "plays an irreplaceable role" in addressing challenges to rules-based international order, climate change, environmental degradation and water scarcity. She said that "what happens in the Philippines is critical to what happens in the Indo-Pacific and the world." "Our shared resolve to address threats together, embodied in our treaty alliance, is just one pillar in the US-Philippine relationship," she asserted. Carlson expressed her gratitude for those who did their part "to advance our shared goal of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific." She said the success of this year's exercises "is an incredible accomplishment, and a testament to the strength of the US-Philippine Alliance." "I am sure all our service members who participated in this exercise depart with a deeper sense of the special bond of friendship between our two countries," she added.