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Balikatan Begins as Japan Joins Drills and China Mounts Western Pacific Patrols

The drills signal a tighter U.S.-Philippine-Japan defense network despite Beijing's protests.

Japan army Maj. Gen. Toshikatsu Musha, left, and Japan navy Rear Admiral Izuru Ikeuchi pose as they participate during the opening ceremonies of the joint military exercise dubbed "Balikatan" or "Shoulder to Shoulder," Monday, April 20, 2026, in Quezon city, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Japan army Maj. Gen. Toshikatsu Musha, left, talks with a U.S. marines after the opening ceremonies of the joint military exercise dubbed "Balikatan" or "Shoulder to Shoulder," Monday, April 20, 2026, in Quezon city, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Philippine military Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner, left, has the "Balikatan" patch from U.S. Charge d' Affaires, Ad interim Y. Robert Ewing during the opening ceremonies of the joint military exercise dubbed "Balikatan" or "Shoulder to Shoulder," Monday, April 20, 2026, at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters in Quezon city, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
From left, Major General Francisco Lorenzo Jr., Philippine exercise director, Philippine military Chief General Romeo Brawner, U.S. Charge d' Affaires, Ad interim Y. Robert Ewing, Philippine Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations J3 Major General Elmer Suderio and US Lieutenant General Christian Wortman, Commanding General I Marine Expeditionary Force, pose during the opening ceremonies of the joint military exercise dubbed "Balikatan" or "Shoulder to Shoulder", Monday, April 20, 2026, at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters in Quezon city, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Overview

  • Balikatan, which began Monday, brings roughly 17,000 troops through May 8 from the Philippines, the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, France and New Zealand, including about 10,000 U.S. personnel.
  • Japan joins as a full participant for the first time with 1,400 troops, ships and aircraft, including a Type 88 anti-ship missile test to sink a target off northern Luzon.
  • Planned events include maritime strike drills on Itbayat, a Philippine island about 155 kilometers from Taiwan, and coastal live-fire training in Zambales facing the South China Sea.
  • China deployed a naval task group led by the Type 052D destroyer Baotou through the Bashi Channel to conduct Western Pacific drills that it described as routine and not aimed at any country.
  • Beijing protested a Japanese destroyer’s Taiwan Strait transit on Friday, with the PLA saying it tracked the ship and the Foreign Ministry warning the expanded drills risk eroding regional trust.