Asia drills and pushback

The United States and the Philippines have opened their biggest Balikatan war games yet, widening a regional military buildup around Taiwan and the South China Sea. (pna.gov.ph) The exercise runs from April 20 to May 8 and brings together more than 17,000 troops from the Philippines, the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, with 17 more countries attending as observers. Philippine and U.S. forces said this year’s drills include maritime strike rehearsals on islands facing key sea lanes near Taiwan. (pna.gov.ph) (taiwannews.com.tw) Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force joined Balikatan for the first time with about 1,400 personnel, including Type 88 anti-ship missile units, in a broader shift from bilateral U.S.-Philippine drills to a more multilateral format. South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo reported Japanese ground forces also took part in live-fire training tied to the exercise. (navalnews.com) (chosun.com) Taiwan added its own signal on April 22, when Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling visited Itu Aba in the Spratly Islands for coast guard drills that included boarding a suspicious vessel, medical evacuation and pollution-response practice. Taiwan’s coast guard called the trip a humanitarian and emergency-response exercise, and Reuters described the ministerial visit as rare. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) (taipeitimes.com) Itu Aba, which Taiwan calls Taiping Island, sits in the southern South China Sea, where Taiwan and China both claim broad stretches of water and where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also press overlapping claims. The Balikatan drills are unfolding at the same time that Manila has expanded access for U.S. forces under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, including sites in northern Luzon closer to Taiwan. (taipeitimes.com) (thediplomat.com) China answered with both military movement and economic pressure. Reuters reported on April 21 that a top Chinese state newspaper suggested emergency energy assistance for the Philippines could depend on whether Manila keeps holding drills with the United States and its partners. (usnews.com) Chinese naval activity also picked up this week. Chosun Ilbo said Beijing deployed its newest aircraft carrier in response to the expanding exercises, while The Diplomat reported the carrier Liaoning had moved south in what analysts described as more than a routine transit. (chosun.com) (thediplomat.com) Washington and Manila have framed Balikatan 2026 as a readiness test under “real-world conditions,” not a rehearsal aimed at one country. Beijing has repeatedly criticized the drills as destabilizing and has warned outside powers against using the Philippines as a platform near Taiwan. (taiwannews.com.tw) (usnews.com) The next marker comes on May 8, when Balikatan is scheduled to end. Until then, every launch, patrol and warning around the northern Philippines and the South China Sea is likely to be read as part of the same contest over access, alliances and deterrence. (pna.gov.ph)