Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. underscored the Philippines’ growing defense cooperation with allied nations as Exercise Balikatan 41-2026 formally concluded.
Speaking during the closing ceremony at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Teodoro praised participating troops, organizers, and partner-countries for the successful conduct of what has become the largest Balikatan exercise to date.
More than 17,000 military personnel from the Philippines, the United States, and allied nations joined this year’s joint military drills.
According to Teodoro, the large-scale exercises were completed smoothly despite their complexity, with no major injuries, collateral damage, or unintended casualties reported.
“I believe that this demonstration, complex as it is, really will underscore to the host country’s audience, the Filipinos, the need to preserve our military spaces and to invest in higher technology because with precision comes safety,” Teodoro said.
The defense chief also emphasized the importance of strengthening future military exercises through the integration of more advanced technologies, broader operational scenarios, and enhanced interoperability among allied forces.
“I also look forward to the next iteration’s activities so that we can incorporate more in scope, not necessarily in scale, more scenarios, more technology, transfer of learning, but more importantly, more deterrence and more interoperability,” he added.
Teodoro said the lessons learned from this year’s Balikatan exercises would also help improve coordination among government agencies and partner-countries in responding to future security and humanitarian challenges.
“From the Balikatan Exercise’s aftermath is also an information mechanism where we can channel to our partners in government the necessary adjustments and the necessary cooperation that governments can do to make communities better,” he said.
Exercise Balikatan is the long-running annual joint military exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States military.
The term “Balikatan,” which means “shoulder-to-shoulder,” symbolizes the longstanding defense alliance and military cooperation between the two countries.