Manila [Philippines], May 6 : Rockets from US Army HIMARS launchers ripped through the air, streaking towards ship targets that were approaching the coast of northwest Luzon in the Philippines. As the notional enemy flotilla sailed on, other military assets such as fighters, missile patrol boats, and attack helicopters began to winnow the number of enemy landing craft.
For those enemy amphibious assault vehicles that made it all the way to the searingly hot beach of the La Paz sand dunes, they and their dismounted infantry were met by a barrage of artillery rounds, mortar fire, small arms, and even Stinger surface-to-air missiles.
By the end of the battle, an unmanned surface vessel sat on the shore ablaze, while another disabled boat floated away.
The defenders were Canada, Japan, the Philippines, and the USA, and this May 4 counter-landing live-fire exercise was just one episode in Exercise Balikatan 2026, a major annual exercise conducted in the Philippines. The war games are being held from April 20 to May 8, and with more than 17,000 troops, they represent the largest-ever drills in the Balikatan series.
This year's multilateral event features troops from seven countries, the Philippines, the USA, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, and New Zealand. Of interest, the latter four nations were participating with combat troops for the very first time.
Colonel Dennis Hernandez, the Philippine military's spokesperson for Balikatan 2026, remarked, "This counter-landing live-fire exercise demonstrates our growing capability to defend our shores through a multilayered, joint and combined approach, integrating land, sea, and air assets to decisively destroy threats before they reach our coastline."
However, the most pertinent question to ask is who these seven nations were defending against, and what the threat to the Philippine coastline was. Military officials were careful not to name any "foe," but it was obvious that the drills were rehearsing how the partners and allies would react to a Chinese invasion of either the Philippines or Taiwan.
It was evident in the enemy targets, which military commentators described as ZBDs. Notably, the ZBD-05 is an amphibious assault vehicle operated by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Indeed, one of the unmanned targets floating at sea was designed to visually replicate the appearance of such a Chinese ZBD-05. US Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters claimed five ZBDs killed during the two-hour live-fire exercise held near Laoag.
Without mentioning China by name, General Ronald Clark, Commander of US Army Pacific (USARPAC), said Balikatan "is an opportunity for us to train in a way where you'd simulate the kinds of tasks we'd perform together in combat." Balikatan has changed focus over its history, moving from counterinsurgency and counterterrorism more than a decade ago to now focusing on "large-scale combat operations" and territorial defence.
Clark said Balikatan is all about "the willingness of the partner to train on the task that they think they're going to have to perform in crisis and conflict."
Another indication that Exercise Balikatan 2026 was honing in on China was the conduct of activities in Philippine island groups such as the Batanes that lie in the Luzon Strait. This maritime chokepoint is extremely important, as it separates Taiwan from the Philippines. Whoever dominates the Luzon Strait gains an immediate advantage.
For the USA, for example, it can seal off this part of the First Island Chain to prevent PLA Navy (PLAN) warships from breaking out from the South China Sea into the open waters of the Pacific.
Conversely, for the PLA to control the Luzon Strait and other similar waterways would enable it freedom of action and the ability to attack or invade Taiwan's east coast, rather than the west coast that sits directly opposite China across the Taiwan Strait. Clearly, any Chinese military aggression against Taiwan would entail controlling the Luzon Strait.
During Balikatan 2026, the USA and allies practised rapidly inserting important weapon systems like HIMARS rocket launchers and NMESIS-launched anti-ship missiles by C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and landing craft to remote islands.
In rapid insertion missions, they can launch their missiles and then rapidly withdraw the same way before the enemy can target them. In military parlance, these are known as maritime key terrain seizure operations, and they formed a vital part of this year's Philippine exercise.
The maiden participation of Japanese combat troops is significant too. Quite apart from the history of World War II, Japan is as equally concerned about Chinese aggression as Manila is. Whereas dominating Philippine islands gives maritime control of waters south of Taiwan, Japan has an archipelago that can do precisely the same north of Taiwan.
Clark, the USARPAC commander, said that drills like Balikatan allow participants to "set conditions with our partners, allies and the joint force, and conduct rehearsals on key terrain inside the First and Second Island Chains."
He added, "Everything we can do to build the trust that's necessary, in times where we're able to train together prior to any kind of crisis or conflict, is golden."
Furthermore, "Building that kind of trust with one another right now, where we have the confidence in ourselves, our soldiers, our weapons and equipment, our leadership, our tactics, and we're doing that along with our partners, it's just invaluable."
Clark highlighted the importance of partnerships, for "we never go into a conflict by ourselves." He pointed out that multinational exercises like Balikatan build deterrence. Although he did not name China, this is the obvious target, for it has been aggressively bullying the Philippines and illegally claiming maritime territory within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
"In the big scheme of things, our highest duty is to deter," the American general insisted. "For those of us that have served in conflict and served in combat, that's really what it's about, deterring war. The best way to do that is to be ready."
Similarly, General Romeo Brawner Jr., Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, explained that the real value of Balikatan "is showcasing our resolve to work together to defend the Philippine archipelago and to uphold the rules-based international order. So that's the more important aspect of all the exercises we're doing here."
Brawner added, "It's really very important that we defend this territory of the Philippines, and we're very fortunate that we have with us partners from like-minded nations."
In a US Congressional Armed Services Committee hearing on April 21, Admiral Samuel J Paparo, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), was far blunter about who the primary threat is in Asia.
He stated, "Our strategy is clear, we must deny China the ability to achieve its objectives through military aggression, while strengthening the network of alliances and partnerships that constitutes our greatest asymmetric advantage."
The cooperation and coordination exhibited in exercises like Balikatan are necessary because, as Paparo testified, China "uses coercive behaviour and overt aggression to exert its excessive claims, including harassing the Philippines, Japan, and other Southeast Asian partners."
He shared that the Indo-Pacific is a zone "where intense economic competition meets escalating geopolitical friction. This demands a combat-ready joint force to deter any attempt to subvert a free and open Indo-Pacific. No nation can dominate the United States or our allies."
To maintain equilibrium and deter any Chinese aggression against the likes of Taiwan, Paparo asserted, "To achieve this, we are committed to establishing a robust denial defence and creating a military posture in the Western Pacific that renders aggression infeasible, escalation unattractive, and conflict unbearable. This strategy of deterrence by denial strengthens the foundation for effective diplomacy. It also ensures the joint force remains capable of executing decisive global strikes."
Already, the US military has had to significantly restructure and reequip to meet the demands of modern warfare and counter the peer threat that China poses. In Balikatan, there was a preponderance of unmanned systems, including drones, loitering munitions, and unmanned surface vessels. Counter-drone systems were also in evidence.
Clark said leveraging new technologies "makes us more lethal, more survivable. If we can see first, sense first, strike first, protect always, sustain as required, then that's really where we want to focus technology."
He added, "Lucky for us, we're exceptionally well resourced."
Another method to improve readiness is finding ways to overcome the tyranny of distance in the vast Asia-Pacific theatre.
Clark admitted, "The things that are most difficult for me really are about how do you clone yourself to be in all the places you need to be?"
He pointed out that "it's the ability to be in the region in multiple locations with partners and allies in ways that matter for me and my command."
"What we're trying to do over the course of time is to continue to identify places, not bases, where we can forward-locate the sustainment that's necessary for our teammates to utilise in crises and conflicts. Setting the theatre is one of our primary responsibilities, and we try to do that through campaigning."
Paparo explained in April's Armed Services Committee hearing, "The PLA regularly demonstrates its growing capability and capacity through persistent, provocative pressure operations. Beijing will not rule out the use of force against Taiwan, its increasingly aggressive actions near Taiwan serve not just as exercises, but as rehearsals for potential forced unification."
This is true, but exercises like Balikatan demonstrate how the USA and allies are not idly sitting by and allowing China to gather a head of steam. Balikatan 2026 was therefore all about America and its closest allies rehearsing how to defend against Chinese aggression.
All these war games in numerous locations around the Philippines were obviously of great interest to China. As the event opened, China warned the Philippines and its friends that they were "playing with fire."
The Southern Command of the PLA later reported that a four-ship naval task force sailed near Luzon in response to "the current regional situation." Among the vessels was a Dongdiao-class intelligence-gathering ship designed to soak up signals and electronic emissions.
Chinese naval and air assets also conducted patrols near Scarborough Shoal, a maritime feature within the Philippine EEZ that Beijing seized in 2012 and over which it maintains de facto control.
The Southern Theater Command said in a statement that its activities "are meant to resolutely safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea."
The Philippines responded to such claims, saying, "This appears to be another instance of information operations designed to project a false sense of control and to justify their illegal, coercive and aggressive presence within the Philippines' EEZ."
Paparo warned, "The Indo-Pacific is the decisive theatre for American security and prosperity in the 21st century. We must act with urgency to strengthen deterrence, enhance warfighting readiness and force posture, procure critical capabilities, and deepen partnerships. The investments we make today will determine whether we prevent conflict through credible deterrence, or face war under suboptimal conditions."
For his part, as head of the US Army in the region, Clark offered encouragement, "We're in a much, much better and more focused and opportune setting than we were ten years ago when I served in this headquarters."
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