AFP Chief Confirms Balikatan 2026 Starts April 20 — Biggest Ever, Japan Sends Combat Troops for First Time

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. confirmed on April 1 that Balikatan 2026 — the annual Philippines-US joint military exercise — would commence around April 20, 2026 and would be the 'biggest ever' in the exercise's history, despite the ongoing US-Iran conflict in the Middle East. Most significantly, Japan will send combat-capable Self-Defense Forces units to participate directly in training scenarios for the first time since World War II, with Japanese troops carrying weapons during joint exercises — a historic milestone in Japan's post-war security posture. Australia and France will also join as full partners. The exercise focus areas include multi-domain operations, coastal defense, anti-ship tactics, missile systems, and island area denial — a clear deterrence signal directed at Chinese military planners. Pre-exercise activities, including US-Philippine troop engagements in Palawan, were already underway as of March 28. Over 500 US-Philippines joint security engagements were approved for 2026 under bilateral planning guidance agreed at the August 2025 Mutual Defense Board–Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) meeting in Hawaii.