US-PH Balikatan drills not preparation for war, NSC says

The upcoming Balikatan joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States are not in preparation for war, the National Security Council said Saturday.

According to a Super Radyo dzBB report, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya issued the statement at the Saturday News Forum.

“War is off the table,” the report quoted Malaya as saying.

The development comes a day after Beijing expressed “grave concern” over the United States’ deployment of a medium-range missile system in northern Luzon.

In Manila, citizen’s movement group P1NAS earlier warned that the deployment of the missile launchers on Philippine soil was “openly signaling hostile intent against China, giving the US the capability to launch attacks on China’s homeland from our own territory.”

‘Purpose’ of armed forces

Last Thursday, Balikatan 2024 Executive Agent Colonel Mike Logico said the military exercises between the US and the Philippines will be conducted in northern Luzon due to its proximity to Taiwan, a potential flashpoint of hostilities with China.

“The purpose of an armed forces—why we exist—is really to prepare for war. There’s no sugarcoating it. That’s absolutely true… With or without China, let’s say for example in a parallel universe China did not exist, we would still be doing these exercises,” he said earlier.

However, Malaya said that the Philippines has no plans to engage into any form of conflict.

He assured that the Balikatan, which will run from April 22 to May 10, is focused on strengthening the Philippines’ defense capacity and capability, as well as the interoperability and cooperation of Filipino and American forces.

Missile system

On Thursday, 24 Oras reported that the US Army’s Mid-Range Capability Missile System (MRCS) was already at an undisclosed location in northern Luzon as part of Exercise Salaknib 2024.

Exercise Balikatan 2024 will commence after the Salaknib, with over 16,000 Filipino and US troops  expected to participate.

It will introduce the Standard Missile 6 (SM6) system, which has a range of up to 300 nautical miles or more than 500 kilometers—a distance that surpasses the 370-kilometer stretch between the northernmost point of the Philippines and southern Taiwan.

Logico had said that SM6 would not be fired during the exercises.

The 2024 Balikatan will be the biggest iteration of the annual joint military exercise with the participation of various government agencies and the armed forces of more nations.

It will be observed by several countries including Brunei, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. — VDV/KG, GMA Integrated News