PH-US 2024 Balikatan to be held in Batanes, Palawan

The Philippine and United States (US) militaries will conduct its 2024 Balikatan Exercise in Batanes and Palawan in April and May, the exercise’s executive agent Colonel Michael Logico said on Tuesday.

“Batanes is one of the locations that we are considering in the execution of Balikatan,” Logico said in a press briefing.

“We will also be doing maritime exercises west of Palawan and we will also be doing integrated air missile defense exercises in Central Luzon,” he added.

According to Logico, this year’s Balikatan will be departing from the usual training areas like Fort Magsaysay and Colonel Ernesto Ravina Air Base (CERAB).

“So now we are actually pushing out into key locations throughout the country, primarily in the north and also in the west,” he said.

France and Australia will also be participating in Balikatan activities, according to Logico.

For this year, Logico said Balikatan will include other Philippine agencies like the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police. 

More participants will also be invited for cyberdefense and information warfare exercises, he added.

“In this Balikatan, we are also going for more inter-agency collaboration. So in previouses exercises, it was just purely military to military. Ngayon (Now), we are also going to involve other agencies in this exercise, primarily the PCG, PNP, and other invited participants for the cyberdefense and information exercises,” said Logico.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said the 39th iteration of the Balikatan Exercise will be held within the third week of April to first week of May.

“The schedules include a command and control exercise or the C2X, humanitarian civic assistance projects and engagements and the series of field training events,” Padilla said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News