US-Philippines Drills Add Japan, France, Canada
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- US and Philippine forces kicked off the annual Balikatan exercises on April 20, 2026, with over 17,000 combined personnel—nearly 10,000 American troops—in what Philippine military officials called one of their largest combat drills, running nearly three weeks
- Japan, France, and Canada join this year's Balikatan for the first time, having all signed visiting forces agreements with Manila; the multinational expansion transforms the bilateral drill into a coalition exercise
- Drills include live-fire and mock battle scenarios in Philippine provinces facing the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait—Japanese forces will fire missiles from Ilocos Norte to sink a mock enemy ship about 40 kilometres away, with US forces using an explosives-laden marine drone for follow-up bombardment
- Marine Lt. Gen. Christian Wortman said the US commitment to the Indo-Pacific and the Philippines remains "unwavering" "regardless of the challenges elsewhere in the world," referring to the war against Iran
- AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said the drills build deterrence and resilience without naming any country, though he has previously sharply criticized Chinese actions against Philippine forces in the South China Sea
- China objects to the exercises as aimed at containing its global rise, while the Philippines insists the drills target no country and also prepare allied forces for disaster response; the US maintains a treaty obligation to defend the Philippines—its oldest Asian ally—if Filipino forces come under armed attack in disputed waters
Why it matters: Bringing Japan, France, and Canada into Balikatan turns a bilateral drill into a multinational coalition explicitly aimed at deterrence in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait—even as Washington wages war against Iran. With 17,000 troops, live-fire exercises, and a mock ship-sinking scenario 40 kilometres from disputed waters, the drills show that America's treaty commitment to Manila is surviving its Middle East preoccupation.
Ask SkimNews
