U.S. and Filipino Forces Launch Expanded Military Drills

To counter Chinese aggression, the Philippines isn’t just hoping to stand shoulder to shoulder with its allies. It’s looking for a crowd.

On April 20, Filipino and U.S. forces began an expanded version of Exercise Balikatan (Tagalog for “shoulder-to-shoulder”), an annual series of military drills intended to enhance interoperability between the two militaries as well as engaging with other regional allies and partners such as Australia and Japan.

The exercises, which will feature live-fire drills and mock battle maneuvers near the South China Sea and Taiwan, showcase Manila’s commitment to playing a key regional security role while countering rising Chinese aggression.

Drill Features New Participants and New Platforms

The exercises in the Philippines will feature participation from both Japan and Canada, both of which have recently signed defense agreements with Manila, alongside detachments from France, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. Reflecting Tokyo’s growing rearmament effort, the exercise will also be the first to feature Japanese soldiers as active participants rather than observers. The drills will also include roughly 10,000 U.S. service personnel, a significant deployment amid the recent flow of forward-deployed U.S. forces into the Middle East.

The drills will also test the deployment of new weapons platforms, including a series of short- to mid-range missile systems. The Filipino military has announced plans to simulate the firing of its BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles purchased from India in early 2022, bolstering the country’s coastal defense network. The exercises are also expected to feature the deployment of Japan’s Type 88 anti-ship missile and the U.S.-deployed Typhon missile system, which can fire the SM-6 and Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile.

The Philippines Has Expanded its Regional Defense Ties

The drills follow a string of high-profile meetings between Manila and its closest allies and partners, including Tokyo and Washington.

Japan has expanded its defense ties to the Philippines following the activation of their reciprocal access agreement in September 2025, which streamlined procedures for joint exercises and increased interoperability. Japan is also positioned to sell more advanced frigates and other technologies to the Philippines under Tokyo’s reworked arms export policy, allowing Manila to deter Chinese activity around contested islands and shoals in the South China Sea.  

The exercises will also cement Manila at the center of Washington’s regional security strategy. In February, the United States pledged to increase its deployment of missile and unmanned systems to the Philippines while working to modernize Manila’s armed forces amid sustained Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

Along with testing unmanned maritime drones against maritime targets, the drills will include activity around the island of Itbayat, one of the closest Philippine islands to Taiwan, and situated just south of the Bashi Channel, a critical waterway cutting off Taiwan from the islands of Luzon. The drills will also highlight progress on joint U.S.-Filipino efforts to accelerate defense production along with improving regional logistics and maintenance facilities. These improvements could potentially support longer and larger deployments of U.S. forces to the Philippines and other regional bases.

Washington and Manila Should Deepen Cooperation Ahead of a Taiwan Contingency

The United States and the Philippines should build on the progress of their latest exercises to accelerate defense cooperation, including improving airfield defenses, pre-positioning larger stocks of equipment and munitions, and improving training and interoperability on advanced platforms such as undersea drones.

Washington and Manila should also engage in planning to counter a Taiwan contingency, particularly as both forces grow more comfortable operating closer to the island’s maritime lifelines. Both countries should develop pre-set maritime channels to allow commercial shipping to enter and exit the island in the event of a Chinese quarantine, along with strengthening energy resilience by building out regional stowage space for liquefied natural gas and other critical resources.

Jack Burnham is a research analyst in the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Jack and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow Jack on X @JackBurnham802. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.