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Balikatan 2025 Marks Stronger US-Philippine Defense Alignment as China Tensions Mount.
As strategic tensions continue to rise in the South China Sea, the United States and the Philippines are set to launch a new and expanded edition of their annual joint military exercise, Balikatan. Scheduled to take place from April 21 to May 9, 2025, this year’s iteration involves approximately 14,000 troops — including 9,000 from the U.S. and 5,000 from the Armed Forces of the Philippines — and reflects a clear intention by both nations to reinforce interoperability and preparedness in light of mounting regional threats. According to reporting by Bloomberg on April 15, the drills will unfold across key strategic locations on Philippine soil, including northern Luzon and Palawan, areas situated close to Taiwan and the contested maritime zones of the West Philippine Sea.
U.S. Marines with 3rd Littoral Combat Team, 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, load a Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank missile as part of a counter landing live-fire exercise during Balikatan 24 (Picture source: US DoD)
The military alliance between the United States and the Philippines, anchored in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, has seen renewed momentum in recent years. Since the reactivation of joint patrols and enhanced military basing agreements under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), both countries have intensified efforts to align their defense postures. Balikatan 2025 is a tangible expression of this trajectory. It focuses on strengthening combat readiness through real-world scenarios, including amphibious operations, island defense, and coastal strike missions. For the first time, the U.S. will deploy and operationally integrate its NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) in the Philippines — a mobile, land-based anti-ship missile launcher combining Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) with the ROGUE-Fires unmanned ground vehicle mounted on a JLTV chassis. This marks a significant upgrade in coastal defense capabilities and introduces a new layer of deterrence in the Indo-Pacific security architecture.
The exercise also incorporates the Typhon missile system — officially designated as the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) — which provides land-based launch capabilities for SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles. The SM-6 offers dual-use air defense and anti-ship functionality, while the Tomahawk, traditionally a long-range land-attack missile, has been adapted to target maritime assets as well. With ranges up to 1,500 kilometers, Typhon allows deep strike capability into contested zones, directly addressing China's expanding A2/AD networks in the region. The simultaneous deployment of NMESIS and MRC introduces, for the first time, a layered and mobile missile threat originating from Philippine territory, significantly complicating adversary targeting and operational planning.
A key feature of Balikatan 2025 is the introduction of a “full battle test” — an integrated training environment that merges field-level tactical drills with a higher-level command post exercise and a robust virtual simulation layer. This holistic approach allows for synchronized operations across land, sea, air, space, and cyber domains. According to U.S. Colonel Doug Krugman, this is not just an exercise but a live rehearsal designed to test the execution of complex joint operational plans under simulated wartime conditions. Scenarios will include live-fire events such as the destruction of a target ship, counter-landing operations, integrated air and missile defense, and the recapture of strategic terrain. These drills aim to validate joint mission execution, logistical synchronization, and real-time command coordination.
Balikatan 2025 is not limited to bilateral training. Australia will once again send combat troops, and a broader group of 16 nations — including France, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam — will participate as official observers. Japan will also contribute elements from both its Ground and Maritime Self-Defense Forces. This growing multilateralism reflects the Philippines’ ambition to position itself as a credible regional security actor and the U.S.’s push to build broader coalitions under its Indo-Pacific Strategy.
For the first time, the U.S. will deploy and operationally integrate its NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) in the Philippines (Picture source: US DoD)
For Manila, the exercise offers an opportunity to demonstrate the modernization of its armed forces and improve force integration with the U.S. and partner countries. It comes amid a series of confrontations with Chinese maritime forces in 2024, particularly around Second Thomas Shoal and the Spratly Islands, where the Philippine Coast Guard and resupply missions have encountered repeated harassment. Balikatan allows Philippine units — especially those operating in the northern and western theater commands — to rehearse rapid deployment, maritime denial operations, and air-ground coordination in complex scenarios closely mirroring actual threats.
From Washington’s perspective, the exercise underscores its enduring commitment to Indo-Pacific security and the defense of allies under formal treaty obligations. It also signals a forward-deployed posture aimed at dissuading unilateral changes to the regional status quo by force. The deployment of advanced systems like NMESIS and Typhon further demonstrates a shift in U.S. strategy toward deploying mobile, survivable, and precision-guided capabilities on allied territory, forming part of the “stand-in force” concept advocated by the U.S. Marine Corps and the Army’s Multi-Domain Task Force.
At a time when Beijing continues to assert expansive maritime claims, conduct coercive gray-zone operations, and build out dual-use infrastructure across contested islands and reefs, Balikatan 2025 carries significant geopolitical weight. It serves as both a message of deterrence and a platform for operational readiness, illustrating the capability of the U.S. and its allies to conduct coordinated, multi-domain operations in defense of shared security interests.
Balikatan 2025 highlights the evolving nature of U.S.-Philippine military cooperation, with enhanced firepower, broader participation, and realistic training scenarios tailored to emerging regional challenges. As the Indo-Pacific continues to be shaped by strategic rivalries, this year’s exercise reflects not only military preparedness but also a reaffirmation of collective intent to uphold international law and regional stability in a volatile maritime environment.