NSC on Balikatan drills: 'PH not preparing to go to war'

The Philippines is not preparing to go to war just because it is conducting the upcoming Balikatan joint military exercises with the United States, the National Security Council (NSC) said Saturday.

Speaking at a news forum, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya sought to allay concerns that the country was bracing itself to engage in an imminent war amid rising territorial tensions in the West Philippine Sea and the Asia-Pacific region.

"Alam ko po karamihan sa inyo are worried because you know we see things like magkakagiyera na 'no, we see things that you know this is a proxy war–may mga ganoong ano eh. War is not on the table–let me just make that very clear," Malaya said.

(I am aware many of you are worried because you know, we see things that you know, this is a proxy war. There are those concerns. War is not on the table–let me just make that very clear.)

"War is not one of the instruments of national policy of the Philippines… Just because we have Balikatan doesn’t mean we’re going to go to war. The only way to preserve peace is to have a strong deterrence capability," he added.

The development comes a day after Beijing expressed "grave concern" over the United States' deployment of a medium-range missile system in northern Luzon.

In Manila, citizen's movement group P1NAS earlier warned that the deployment of the missile launchers on Philippine soil was "openly signaling hostile intent against China, giving the US the capability to launch attacks on China's homeland from our own territory."

'Purpose' of armed forces

Last Thursday, Balikatan 2024 Executive Agent Colonel Mike Logico said the military exercises between the US and the Philippines will be conducted in northern Luzon due to its proximity to Taiwan, a potential flashpoint of hostilities with China.

"The purpose of an armed forces—why we exist—is really to prepare for war. There's no sugarcoating it. That's absolutely true… With or without China, let's say for example in a parallel universe China did not exist, we would still be doing these exercises," he said earlier.

For his part, Malaya said that the Philippines has no plans to engage into any form of conflict. He said the Balikatan exercises were also due to other nations' expressed interest to join the drills.

"Ang observers natin 14–ganoon kadami iyong mga bansa na hindi lang salita, gawa na ngayon–nagpapadala sila ng tropa mula sa bansa nila and they are asking permission to join. In fact, ang dami-dami nang mga bansa na gustong pumirma ng Visiting Forces Agreement–kahit iyong New Zealand na kay layu-layo sa atin ay gustong magkaroon ng exchange ng militaries nila with us, to help us strengthen our defenses," he said.

(We have 14 observers–many countries are expressing, not just with words by with actions, that they are sending their troops and are asking permission to join. In fact, there are so many countries that want to sign Visiting Forces Agreements. Even New Zealand, which is very far from us, wants to have their military exchanges with us to help us strengthen our defenses.)

According to a Super Radyo dzBB report, Malaya assured that the Balikatan, which will run from April 22 to May 10, is focused on strengthening the Philippines' defense capacity and capability, as well as the interoperability and cooperation of Filipino and American forces.

Missile system

On Thursday, 24 Oras reported that the US Army's Mid-Range Capability Missile System (MRCS) was already at an undisclosed location in northern Luzon as part of Exercise Salaknib 2024.

Exercise Balikatan 2024 will commence after the Salaknib, with over 16,000 Filipino and US troops  expected to participate.

It will introduce the Standard Missile 6 (SM6) system, which has a range of up to 300 nautical miles or more than 500 kilometers—a distance that surpasses the 370-kilometer stretch between the northernmost point of the Philippines and southern Taiwan.

Logico had said that SM6 would not be fired during the exercises.

The 2024 Balikatan will be the biggest iteration of the annual joint military exercise with the participation of various government agencies and the armed forces of more nations.

It will be observed by several countries including Brunei, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Malaya said that the Philippines would not accept aid that will result in war.

"Gusto ko lang pong liwanagin iyan sa lahat ng nandito ngayon (I just want to make it clear): We are exhausting all diplomatic options to resolve this issue. We wish a constructive dialogue with the People’s Republic of China. But defending, improving our defenses and improving the capacity of our forces through exercises and joint patrols and what not ever does not mean that we are going to war," he said. — Jamil Santos/VDV/KG, GMA Integrated News