The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), raises urgent concern over the intensified foreign military presence and deepening U.S. intervention in the Philippines, epitomized by the 2026 Balikatan war games. These joint military exercises, which are the largest to date, are a dangerous escalation in the Indo-Pacific region, drawing in U.S. allies into preparations for war against China and worsening counterinsurgency (COIN) operations in the Philippines that continue to have devastating impacts on the Filipino people.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States military will conduct the most expansive Balikatan Exercise across the country from April 20 to May 8. Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the United States-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty, more than 17,000 personnel from the Philippines, US, Australia, Japan, Canada, France and New Zealand will train “shoulder-to-shoulder”, and an additional 17 nations will participate as part of the international observer program in the 41st iteration of Exercise Balikatan.
Putting on the Balikatan exercises in the context of a global fuel crisis caused by the unprovoked aggression of the US-Israel attacks on Iran is a slap in the face to Filipinos already suffering so much from the impacts of the US led war. Through this crisis the average Filipino has struggled to get to work, struggled to pay for cooking fuel, and struggled with the spiralling inflation and increasing price of basic commodities. The militaries of the Philippines, US, Australia, Japan, Canada, France and New Zealand will indulge in massive fuel consumption to power their naval vessels, jets and other equipment in the midst of the worst fuel crisis since WWII.
This year’s Balikatan exercise follows with the US First Island Chain strategy – a Cold War-era U.S. plan to contain China by establishing naval bases along a chain of islands in the Western Pacific, including Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. This strategy aims to restrict China’s sea access and to project U.S. power in the region. Projecting power through the Balikatan “full battle test” exercises, which include live-fire drills near Taiwan and the West Philippine Sea, prepares for war with China, drawing the Philippines into a proxy conflict.
The 2026 exercises also follow recent announcements of US initiatives to further establish the Philippines as its major military Hub in Asia. This month, the Marcos Jr Administration announced an agreement with the US under the “Pax Silica” initiative, which will create a special economic zone in the Philippines focused on the production of critical minerals and electronics for US supply chains. Progressive groups in the Philippines have noted that the materials produced in this kind of zone feed not only consumer markets but also missiles, drones, surveillance systems, and communications infrastructure. This Pax Silica Industrial Hub, paired with the new US ammunition production site in Subic, make the Filipino more vulnerable to become targets in the context of US war in Asia.
In the end, what the Balikatan exercises try to manufacture is the idea that the Philippines is facing a national emergency because of an alleged threat of invasion by China. In reality, the Philippines is facing a national emergency caused by US hegemony and war, which has for years plunged the Philippines into poverty and civil war.
While the US ramps up its war games against China, the US backed AFP also ramps up its brutal counterinsurgency (COIN) operations, as seen even in the massive military operation in Negros on the first day of the Baliktan exercises, April 20. As the military operations in Negros led to massive war crimes, killing 19 and displacing 653, so too will future COIN operations continue to impact people across the Philippines. The national democratic struggle in the Philippines remains the main deterrent to complete US domination of the country, and the Filipino people will continue to resist and struggle for national liberation in the face of escalating US war.
ICHRP calls for an end to the Balikatan exercises which serve as a pretext for further U.S. military intervention. The exercises are ultimately a violation of Philippine sovereignty and a tool for U.S. military intervention that exacerbates human rights violations; all countries that wish to express concern for human rights and peace should immediately withdraw participation.
