Balikatan 2024 ‘highlight’ of my career — US envoy

United States Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson found this year’s iteration of largest annual war games between the two countries as the highlight of her career as a diplomat.

This year’s Balikatan Exercises, which ran from April 22 to May 2, became memorable for Carlson, particularly when Filipino and American troops fired at a mock enemy ship in the waters off Ilocos Norte.

“Two days ago, I had the honor of joining President Marcos and our military leadership teams at the Combined Coordination Center – Triple C – to watch Us and Philippine forces execute a complex live-fire event that demonstrated our alliance’s capability to enforce our mutual defense requirements,” she said in her remark at the closing ceremony of the Balikatan Exercises.

“That was a highlight for me – not just of my tenure here as Ambassador, but of my 39-year career,” she added.

Filipino and American troops held various military drills on land, at sea, in the air and through cyberspace.

At least 16,000 troops from the Philippines and US showed their joint forces in front of observers from Brunei Darussalam, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

For the first time, troops from the French Navy also joined in the drills, along with contingents from the Australian Defence Force.

“Over the past three weeks, nearly 12,000 of you—including participants from Australia and France and observers from 14 like-minded nations—took part in impressive training activities across core military functions, fostering robust relationships and deepening expertise,” Carlson told the troops participating in the ceremony.

“As we have heard both President Marcos and President Biden say, security and economic prosperity are inextricably linked – and nowhere is that more apparent than in the vitally important Indo-Pacific region,” she added.

Aside from bolstering interoperability, Balikatan, according to Carlson, strengthened the connection between troops of both sides.

Filipino and American servicemen shared meals and engaged in competitive sports, such as basketball, which Carlson said are “moments of camaraderie and goodwill extend far beyond military activities.”

“They demonstrate for all to see the strong, meaningful people-to-people ties that form the basis of our steadfast friendship and undergird our longstanding, ironclad alliance,” she added. — Joseph Pedrajas