As 16,000 troops gear up for the 40th Balikatan, one Philippine general says he ‘doesn’t care’ how China reacts: ‘if they’re angry … good’
Updated: 8:00am, 23 Mar 2025
US and Philippine troops conduct battle drills at Fort Magsaysay during last year’s Balikatan drills. Photo: US Army
A test of firepower. A projection of strength. A message to China. This year’s Balikatan exercise promises to be all this and more, organisers say, even as the United States adopts an increasingly isolationist stance under its mercurial president, Donald Trump.
Next month, around 16,000 troops will converge in the Philippines for the 40th iteration of the joint annual drills, including personnel from six other nations: Australia, Canada, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain.