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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Brace for war games! AFP, Australia kick off 'Exercise Alon'

Brace for war games! AFP, Australia kick off 'Exercise Alon'

Military delegates from US, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Indonesia are observing

Published Aug 15, 2025 01:58 pm
(L-R) A Philippine Marine Corps soldier and an Australian Army personnel plan an assault at an airfield in Palawan during Exercise Alon 2023. (Photo: Australian Defence Force)
(L-R) A Philippine Marine Corps soldier and an Australian Army personnel plan an assault at an airfield in Palawan during Exercise Alon 2023. (Photo: Australian Defence Force)
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Australian Defence Force (ADF) opened a joint military training dubbed as “Exercise Amphibious and Land Operations” (ALON25) on Friday, Aug. 15, as both forces seek to enhance their interoperability, joint force projection capabilities, and multi-domain operations.
More than 3,600 personnel from the AFP, ADF, United States Marine Corps (USMC) and Royal Canadian Navy are participating in the exercise which will be held at training locations around the islands of Palawan and Luzon facing the West Philippine Sea (WPS) until Aug. 29.
The opening ceremony was held at the headquarters of the Western Command (Wescom) in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
There will also be foreign observers from the militaries of the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Indonesia as part of the International Observers Program (IOP), highlighting the positive impacts of the joint and combined events of ALON25.
The AFP said major activities include amphibious and maritime operations and combined joint forcible entry operation (CJFEO) in Palawan; and combined arms live fire exercise (CALFX) – close air support (CAS) in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.
The CJFEO involves the deployment and integration of amphibious forces to execute coordinated maritime operations, including naval gunfire support, amphibious assault, and maritime strike missions. It will also demonstrate the participants’ capacity to “seize and secure littoral terrain.”
Meanwhile, the CALFX-CAS emphasizes rapid deployment and joint ground operations. It will test the participants’ ability to conduct tactical insertion, mobility, and precision engagement, reinforcing their capabilities in responding to contingencies, enhancing command and control, and deepening joint training in air-ground coordination.
“Additional cooperation areas include special operations integration and training activities, cyber resilience, civil-military and religious capability engagement, and public affairs,” the AFP noted.
Exercise Alon was first held in 2023 as part of Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour (IPE) program. The exercise successfully demonstrated Australia and the Philippines' ability to practice high-end amphibious warfighting skills together.
“We’re proud to conduct our largest overseas exercise with the Philippines, and continue to build on our close cooperation. Exercise Alon 25 is an opportunity for us to practice how we collaborate and respond to shared security challenges, and project force over great distances in the Indo-Pacific,” said Vice Admiral Justin Jones, chief of joint operations of ADF, noting that the war games demonstrate the strength of the Australian-Philippines security partnership.
“This exercise reflects Australia’s commitment to working with partners to ensure we maintain a region where state sovereignty is protected, international law is followed, and nations can make decisions free from coercion,” he added.

Related Tags

Exercise Alon AFP Australian Defence Force WPS joint training
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