Ahead of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s first visit to the Philippines, the US and Philippine militaries have commenced a large-scale joint exercise. According to Reuters and AFP, the US and Philippine forces held the opening ceremony for the annual joint exercise, ‘Salaknib,’ the previous day and began training.
This exercise, which is part of the largest annual joint exercise between the two countries, ‘Balikatan,’ will be conducted in two phases: the first phase until April 11 and the second phase from May 19 to July 20 in areas such as northern Luzon Island in the Philippines. Around 2,000 US Army personnel and 3,000 Philippine Army personnel will participate to practice joint operations, large-scale maneuvers, and live-fire exercises.
The Philippine military stated that this training focuses on territorial defense, large-scale troop deployment and command, and will also include humanitarian civilian support, information warfare, and counterintelligence.
During the training period, Secretary Hegseth is scheduled to visit the Philippines on the 28th, where he will meet with Philippine leaders such as Secretary of Defense Gilbert Teodoro in Manila to discuss strengthening joint defense measures against China in regions including the South China Sea. Secretary Hegseth will be the first US cabinet member to visit the Philippines since the inauguration of the Trump administration.
President Trump issued an executive order in January freezing various foreign aid expenditures for 90 days. However, the budget of $336 million allocated to support the modernization of the Philippine military was exempted from the freeze, allowing it to be provided to the Philippines.
After his visit to the Philippines, Secretary Hegseth plans to travel to Japan to attend the 80th anniversary US-Japan joint memorial service for the Battle of Iwo Jima on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima (also known as Sulfur Island) and meet with Japanese leaders.
[Photo Credit: Reuters=YONHAP News]
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