Balikatan 2025 turns Philippines into launchpad for US war—NDFP
April 21, 2025
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) denounced this year’s Balikatan military exercises as a dangerous escalation of US military intervention in the country, warning that the drills are transforming the Philippines into a staging ground for regional war.
With more than 14,000 US and Philippine troops participating in operations spanning Luzon, Palawan, and areas near Taiwan, the NDFP said Balikatan 2025 goes far beyond routine training. At the center of this year’s exercises is the US Marine Corps’ Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR), a rapid deployment force designed for island-hopping warfare aimed at confronting China in the South China Sea.
“This is no longer a joint training exercise—it is full-spectrum preparation for war,” the NDFP said in a statement. “Contrary to US claims, this war machine does not defend—it consumes. And it is using the Filipino people as its fuel.”
The group warned that new weapons systems being field-tested in the country—such as the NMESIS coastal missile platform—signal a shift toward a “first-strike posture” that threatens to draw the Philippines into a conflict between major powers. The presence of these weapons, the NDFP said, turns the archipelago into a launchpad for US military provocations, increasing the risk of retaliatory strikes from China.
“The cost of these war games will not be paid by Washington, but by Filipino communities who may find themselves in the crossfire,” the statement said.
The NDFP also criticized the use of Humanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA) programs, saying these are being used to normalize the US military presence while enabling the construction of infrastructure and the prepositioning of supplies within Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites. These same areas, the group noted, are also experiencing intensified militarization and operations targeting peasant and indigenous communities.
“Under the guise of development, the US is embedding itself deeper into our territory and aiding in counterinsurgency operations against the Filipino people,” the NDFP said.
The group condemned the Marcos Jr. administration for expanding US military access to Philippine territory, likening his actions to those of his father, who allowed the presence of US military bases during his fascist dictatorship.
“By opening more EDCA sites and giving the US military broader access, Marcos Jr. has surrendered more of our land and seas to foreign control,” the statement read.
“The people’s armed resistance remains the most effective means to assert national sovereignty and genuine democracy in the face of imperialist aggression and local tyranny,” the NDFP concluded.