Exercise Balikatan 2025:
As many as 17,000 personnel are participating in the annual “Balikatan” exercises, which this year will simulate a “full-scale battle scenario” as the treaty allies seek to deter China’s ambitions in the waterway.
- It is the largest bilateral exercise conducted between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States.
“Balikatan,” a Tagalog phrase that means “shoulder-to-shoulder,” characterizes the spirit of the exercise and represents the alliance between the Philippines and the United States. - Held annually, Exercise Balikatan is designed to enhance military interoperability and readiness in support of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Philippines.
- The 2025 edition is the 40th iteration of the exercise.
- Distinguishing itself from past iterations, Balikatan 25 will feature a Full Battle Test that incorporates real-world forces and events into a virtual and constructive exercise scenario.
- The exercise will span all domains—air, land, sea, space, and cyber—testing the interoperability between U.S. and Philippine forces to simulate the defense of Philippine sovereignty.
- The exercise will consist of four primary components: a Combined Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (CJLOTS) operation, humanitarian civic assistance (HCA) activities, a command-and-control exercise (C2X), and a Multilateral Maritime Exercise (MME).
- Each component will encompass several training events and engagement throughout the Philippines.
