U.S. soldiers watch the South China Sea from a fighting position during coastal defense training at the La Paz Sand Dunes on northern Luzon, Philippines, May 4, 2026. (Aaron Kidd/Stars and Stripes)
American and Filipino forces, with troops from five other nations, on Friday wrapped up the annual Balikatan exercise in the Philippines after two and a half weeks training on land, air and sea.
The drills began April 20 and closed with a ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo, headquarters of the Philippine military in Quezon City, the state-run Philippine News Agency reported on Facebook that day.
During the exercise U.S. troops deployed HIMARS, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, and NMESIS, the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, to the Philippines’ northernmost islands near Taiwan.
American forces fired the HIMARS from the northwest coast of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and from the island of Palawan, in the South China Sea.
U.S. soldiers also carried out the first live-fire test in the Philippines of a mid-range missile system that deployed to the country last year.
The system, known as Typhon, launched a Tomahawk land-attack missile early Tuesday from the eastern island of Leyte, striking a target nearly 400 miles away on Luzon.
Filipino troops hold their nation’s flag during the annual Balikatan drills in the Philippines, May 6, 2026. (Aaron Kidd/Stars and Stripes)
A Filipino soldier watches his American counterpart fly a small drone over Fort Magsaysay, Philippines, during the annual Balikatan exercise on April 30, 2026. (Aaron Kidd/Stars and Stripes)
The strike was conducted within a simulated combat scenario in which U.S. and Philippine forces responded to a mock enemy, Philippine military spokesman Col. Dennis Hernandez told reporters that day.
Japan, which sent 1,400 troops, participated in the exercise for the first time, along with Australia, Canada, France and New Zealand. The drill also marked the first time Japanese combat troops had deployed to the Philippines since World War II.
Japanese soldiers on Wednesday fired their Type 88 anti-ship missile from northern Luzon, the first time the weapon launched missiles outside of Japanese territory.
The live-fire training follows a build-up of China’s missile capability, aggression by Chinese forces in the South and East China Seas and threats to reunify Taiwan with the mainland, by force, if necessary.
Japan’s deployment of forces to the Philippines is an example of a right-wing push for accelerated remilitarization of Japan, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters Wednesday, according to a transcript on the ministry’s website.
“Some of their policies and moves have gone far beyond the scope of self-defense,” he said.
However, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro dismissed Chinese concerns while speaking to reporters at the Balikatan closing ceremony.
“Number one, I don’t believe it. Number two, they don’t care about that,” he said, according to Friday post on Facebook by local broadcaster ABS-CBN News. “They should mind their own backyard.”
