The government of Japan will only send observers for the upcoming Exercise Balikatan 2024 which is set to begin on April 22.
This was confirmed by Col. Michael Logico, executive agent of Balikatan Exercise, as he noted that it was “too late” for the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) to deploy active participants for the annual bilateral military exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and United States Armed Forces.
“Actually we invited Japan as early as last year during the mid and final planning conference. However, it was already too late at that point of the planning process so they will just send observers for this year,” Logico said in a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Tuesday, April 16.
As observers, the Japanese troops are not allowed to bring firearms and could only join in humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) trainings and other non-combat drills.
However, the planning team of the AFP has invited the JSDF for the concept development of Balikatan Exercise in 2025 so they could participate in the war games, Logico said.
Earlier, President Marcos said that it would be beneficial for both the Philippines and Japan if Japanese troops would join the Balikatan.
The 39th iteration of Balikatan will be held until May 10. Around 16,770 service members from both nations will converge in Manila for joint trainings across Luzon.
Participants from the Australian Defense Force and French Navy will also be joining select drills while 14 countries will send contingents as observers such as Japan, South Korea, India, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Germany, and New Zealand. China will not send participants nor observers.
This year’s Balikatan aims to bolster collaboration and readiness across a spectrum of critical areas including external defense operations, cyber defense, counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, and interagency capacity-building.
“Our combined capabilities with the Armed Forces of the Philippines are stronger than ever. Every day that we work and train together, the bonds between our people grow stronger, our capabilities grow stronger, our alliance grows stronger,” Lieutenant General William M. Jurney, commander of US Marine Corps Forces, Pacific and US Exercise Director for Balikatan 2024.
The exercise is structured around three main components: Command and Control Exercise (C2X), Field Training Exercise (FTX), and Humanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA). These activities will span various locations under the Northern Luzon Command, Western Command, and Southern Luzon Command areas of operation.
C2X will encompass a Staff Exercise, a Cyber Defense Exercise, and an inaugural Information Warfighter Exercise, all designed to test the ability of AFP and US forces to plan, command, and communicate effectively in simulated scenarios.
The FTX will concentrate on combined joint all-domain operations, including vital maritime terrain protection, air assault operations, and reconnaissance activities. Additionally, it will feature the deployment and utilization of cutting-edge military assets such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) Rapid Infiltration, Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), and various unmanned aerial systems.
The AFP said that the key event will be the Maritime Strike, which seeks to integrate joint and combined fires, combined joint dynamic targeting, and multi-domain effects through the sinking of the adversary’s vessel.
In tandem with military exercises, Balikatan 2024 will also incorporate Humanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA) projects aimed at benefiting local communities. These include the construction of school buildings in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan, and health care centers in La Union and Palawan.
Further, the AFP will also host an international observers program to promote regional defense cooperation among ASEAN-member nations and other strategic partners.
“Together, we speed up our march towards enhancing our military capabilities for maritime security alongside honing other competencies in order to effectively address the dynamic challenges across all domains,” AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said.
Group sail
A Multilateral Maritime Exercise featuring participation from the AFP, US Navy, French Navy, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and US Coast Guard is also planned within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
This move comes as a surprise as it is believed that it would be the first time that the white or civilian ships of the PCG will mingle with gray or military ships of the AFP and US Armed Forces in the Balikatan.
“The reason why we do exercises is to demonstrate our combat readiness and it is also a demonstration of our Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept. You do exercises for that primary reason to maintain a high level of readiness,” Logico said, justifying the inclusion of the PCG in the group sail.
The inclusion of civilian ships into a group sail with military vessels of the Philippines and US is expected to raise the eyebrow of China, which recently slammed the trilateral summit among the leaders of Philippines, US, and Japan as a “smear and attack” on Beijing.
“I do not discount the possibility that this also sends a message to our adversaries, to our friends, to our allies and also to our like-minded partners. The message actually, if you take it into totality, is the main goal of the exercise objectives which is to demonstrate the strength of our alliance and our willingness to defend our territory,” Logico said.
The group sail will begin in Palawan and will encompass the bounds of the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), including the West Philippine Sea where Chinese coast guard, navy and militia vessels have frequented.
Creeping invasion?
As of April 15, the AFP monitored 55 Chinese vessels in the WPS, according to Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS.
Two China Coast Guard (CCG) and 24 Chinese maritime militia vessels (CMMVs) were spotted in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough/ Panatag Shoal); one CCG and five Chinese fishing vessels (CFVs) in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal; 1 CCG and 19 CMMVs in Pagasa (Thitu) Island; two CMMVs in Panata Island (Lankiam Cay); and one People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in Lawak (Nanshan) Island.
Trinidad has admitted that the deployment of Chinese vessels in the WPS increased, describing it as a slow encroachment into the country’s territory.
“If we look at what’s happening in the region, since the early 90s with the pullout of the US bases, China has slowly encroached on the maritime zones of the different countries that border the South China Sea not only the Philippines – Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore. So yes, China has been encroaching into the different maritime zones of the Southeast Asian countries bordering the South China Sea,” Trinidad said.
“You may call it a creeping invasion,” he added.