Phl, US, Japan to blow up retired BRP Quezon in Balikatan’s ship sinking drills

The Philippine, United States (U.S.), and Japanese forces will sink a decommissioned Philippine Navy vessel, the BRP Quezon (PS-70), in a high-impact maritime strike exercise during this year’s Balikatan Exercise. 

Colonel Dennis Hernandez, Balikatan spokesperson for the Philippines, said the ship-sinking exercise, or “sink-ex,” will be part of a broader “joint maritime strike” involving coordinated firepower from air, land, and sea assets.

“[This] is a combination of air, land, and maritime assets sinking the target vessel—which is PS-70,” Hernandez told defense and foreign reporters in an ambush interview at the Camp Aguinaldo.

The BRP Quezon (PS-70) was originally an Auk-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II, before being transferred to the Philippine Navy in 1967.

The Philippine Navy warship was decommissioned in 2021 as part of the service’s transition toward a more modern naval force.

During the exercise, Hernandez said multiple weapons systems from the Philippines, U.S., and Japan will be deployed to deliberately target and sink off the coast of northern Philippines, with frigates launching missiles, aircraft will dropping munitions, and ground-based systems will engage targets from the shore.

According to Hernandez, the exercise area was chosen to allow longer-range engagements and to meet environmental requirements, including sufficient ocean depth for the vessel to safely settle after sinking.

The Philippines and the U.S. first conducted ship-sinking drills in 2023, assessing their combined tactics, techniques, and procedures for coastal defense operations.

Multinational firepower

The Japanese forces, now fully participating in Balikatan following the implementation of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), is set to deploy ground-based Type 88 surface-to-ship missiles. The system, with an operational range of about 100 kilometers, will be used in a maritime strike exercise aimed at sinking a decommissioned vessel.

The firing will be conducted sequentially — starting from smaller munitions to larger ones — to allow forces to assess the effectiveness of each strike.

“We will evaluate and assess how the vessel sinks, and from that we develop techniques, tactics, and procedures,” Hernandez said.

The U.S. will also contribute firepower, while other participating nations, such as Canada, will take part in broader maritime drills but are not expected to launch missiles during the sinkex.

First for Japan since WWII

Hernandez noted that the exercise marks a historic moment for Japan, whose forces are expected to fire missiles outside their territory for the first time since World War II.

“This is the first time,” he said, citing strengthened defense ties and growing interoperability among allied forces.

Japan’s Defense Minister is also expected to witness the ship sinking exercise, underscoring its strategic importance.

The sinkex is scheduled as a multi-day event within Balikatan 2026, with actual firing dependent on weather conditions. 

Further,  Hernandez noted that a backup target vessel has also been prepared in case the BRP Quezon sinks earlier than expected during initial strikes.

Boosting defense posture

Amid concerns that the exercise’s location, relatively close to key regional waters, could be viewed as provocative, Hernandez emphasized that the drills are purely defensive.

“Every country has the right to defend its territory,” he said. “This is not directed at any specific nation.”

The Balikatan Exercise remains the largest annual military exercise between the Philippines and the U.S., with this year’s iteration expected to involve around 17,000 troops, nearly half of whom are from the Philippine military.