US begins Philippines war games in thick of Mideast war

InternationalMust ReadUS begins Philippines war games in thick of Mideast warBy AFP -Apr 20, 2026MANILA, Philippines: Thousands of American and Philippine troops, joined for the first time by a significant contingent of Japanese forces, began annual military exercises Monday set against the backdrop of the Middle East war. The war games will feature live-fire exercises in the north of the country facing the Taiwan Strait, as well as a province off the disputed South China Sea, where the Philippines and China have engaged in repeated confrontations. In one drill, the Japanese military, which is contributing about 1,400 personnel, will use a Type 88 cruise missile to sink a World War II-era minesweeper off the coast of northern Luzon island. More than 17,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors are taking part in the 19-day Balikatan, or “Shoulder to Shoulder,” exercises — about the same number as last year’s edition, including contingents from Australia, New Zealand, France and Canada. Balikatan comes as Iran and the United States, along with Israel, edge towards the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on Iran. “Regardless of the challenges elsewhere in the world, the United States’ focus on the Indo-Pacific and our ironclad commitment to the Philippines remains unwavering,” US Lieutenant General Christian Wortman said at Monday’s opening ceremony. Without providing precise numbers, Wortman, commander of the Marine Expeditionary Force, later told reporters that approximately 10,000 US personnel would take part in the exercises. Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner added that US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Paparo had assured him at the war’s outbreak that this year’s Balikatan would be “the biggest ever”. “Through integrated air and missile defence, maritime security operations, live fire exercises, and joint multinational readiness training, the nations are building systems that think,...