Japan set for bigger role in Philippines after SDF's debut in key drills

Japan Times

12-05-2025

A top Philippine general has said he expects the Self-Defense Forces' involvement in both bilateral and multilateral activities to grow substantially, following the SDF's limited participation in large-scale military activities that wrapped up last week.
Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Michael Logico, who was involved in managing the latest iteration of the Balikatan U.S.-Philippine drills, said in an exclusive interview with The Japan Times that he expects ties to surge even further once the Japanese parliament ratifies a key visiting-forces agreement with Manila.
'As soon as we have the implementing arrangements of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), we will involve the Japanese in the concept development for upcoming exercises as early as next month," Logico said.
'We will then fully realize how much more the JSDF can contribute when it comes to future field training exercises, and probably also some of the combined and joint all-domain operations,' he added, following Friday's conclusion of this year's Balikatan drills.
Those exercises saw the SDF take part as an official contributor of personnel and equipment for the first time, having only sent observers since 2012.
The RAA, signed last year to facilitate larger and more complex joint military activities in each other's territories, has already been ratified by the Philippine Senate and is expected to pass Japan's parliament before the current session ends on June 15.
Aimed at enhancing readiness for diverse scenarios, the Balikatan 25 drills took place amid rising tensions with Beijing, driven by its territorial dispute with Manila in the South China Sea and escalating concerns over Taiwan.
As the visiting-forces pact with Manila has yet to enter force, the SDF's direct involvement in this year's Balikatan — Tagalog for 'shoulder-to-shoulder' — was mostly confined to activities involving the Mogami-class frigate Yahagi outside of Philippine territorial waters.
Self-Defense Forces personnel participated as observers in amphibious operation training as part of the Balikatan exercises in the Philippines recently. |
Japan Joint Staff
The SDF 'took part in multilateral maritime exercises such as division tactics, well-deck and cross-deck operations as well as search-and-rescue activities' in waters west of the Northern Luzon region, alongside two U.S. Navy vessels and the Philippine Navy's Gregorio del Pilar-class patrol ship BRP Ramon Alcaraz, Logico said.
But SDF personnel were also involved in tabletop drills and humanitarian assistance operations and took part as observers in field training exercises and other exchanges, added Logico, who is deputy chief of the Philippine Army's Training Command.
Overall, 150 SDF personnel joined a combined force of about 14,000 U.S., Philippine and Australian troops, marking a new phase in Tokyo's rapidly expanding relations with regional partners.
'Defense cooperation and exchanges between Japan and the Philippines, both like-minded nations, are steadily advancing in a multifaceted and multilayered manner, particularly in the domain of maritime security,' Tokyo's ambassador to Manila, Kazuya Endo, said following the exercises.
During a visit to Manila late last month, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to launch talks on a deal that would allow their countries' armed forces to share fuel, food and services. They also agreed on the importance of concluding talks on an intelligence-sharing pact.
The Balikatan drills were not only 'the most comprehensive but also the most complex iteration in the series yet,' taking five years to plan, according to Logico. For the first time, troops conducted a "full battle test" — covering a range of scenarios to test the level of joint preparedness — in a move widely seen as focused on deterring China.
'In a full battle test, we must consider all the variables, including real-world challenges, as we deal with both the physical and the nonphysical domains to get a step closer to achieving comprehensive combat readiness,' Logico said.
'It's not just a matter of air, ground and maritime operations, but we're also delving into the information and cyber space as well as the social and political domains,' he noted. This year's maneuvers also saw a number of other firsts, including an integrated air-and-missile defense exercise, a counterlanding drill and so-called maritime key terrain security operations, which involved elements of a U.S. marine littoral regiment.
U.S. Marines with the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment conduct a simulated fire-mission with the Navy-Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESS) in Basco, the Philippines, on April 26 as part of the annual Balikatan military drills. |
U.S. Marine Corps
The exercises also saw the first deployment and use in the Philippines of several advanced U.S. weapons.
This included firing the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher from Palawan island, which sits near the disputed Spratly island chain in the South China Sea, as well as the Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), a ground-based anti-ship weapon on the island of Batanes, located between the Philippines' Luzon island and Taiwan.
Both were new additions, following the introduction of the U.S. Typhon missile system during drills last year. Manila has kept the advanced system in Luzon, infuriating Beijing.
Another first was the use of American microwave-based directed energy weapon systems designed to counter drone swarms.
Philippines Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. underscored the cooperative aspect of Balikatan, calling it 'a demonstration of enduring partnerships and collaborative resolve' that embodies 'our collective readiness to act in unison.'
In recent years, the Philippines has turned not only to its treaty ally, the United States, but also to regional and extraregional players such as New Zealand, Canada and European countries for support in its maritime and territorial disputes with China.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro has said that he expects these efforts to result in 'increased inter-operational activities, joint exercises and realistic training in a myriad of scenarios.' They could also prompt a growing 'rotational presence' of like-minded troops in the Philippines under the country's strategic basing plan, he added, as Manila looks to identify points to support and project forces beyond its territorial waters and into its exclusive economic zone.
Against this backdrop, Logico said the SDF's maiden participation in Balikatan highlights the importance like-minded nations are placing on maintaining regional peace and stability. The development, he said, is also gradually transforming Balikatan, which was originally launched as bilateral U.S.-Philippine drills, into a 'multilateral exercise in everything but name.'
U.S. soldiers stand beside a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) vehicle as they take part in a counterlanding live-fire exercise during the annual U.S.-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercises in Rizal, Palawan, the Philippines, on April 28. |
AFP-JIJI
Manila's outreach to more and more countries was already reflected in Balikatan 25 as military observers from a total of 19 countries — including Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic — took part.
Yet some of these countries are unlikely to only send observers for long, with Logico saying that Manila is already looking at the future direct participation of Canadian and New Zealand troops in not just Balikatan but several other exercises in the Philippines following the visiting-forces pacts.
In the meantime, he said, Manila will continue to encourage other like-minded nations to increase their involvement.
'This part of the region, where the Philippines sits, is of vital significance to international trade,' he said. 'And it is for that reason that maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific is of regional and global importance.'