The United States (U.S.) has reaffirmed its commitment to its long-standing alliance with the Philippines despite ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and other parts of the world.

Speaking at the opening of Exercise Balikatan 41-2026 at Camp Aguinaldo on Monday, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr., said Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, personally assured him that Washington’s support remains unwavering.

Brawner disclosed that he had spoken with Paparo at the onset of the Middle East conflict, where the U.S. commander emphasized that alliance commitments in the Indo-Pacific would not be diminished by crises “elsewhere.”

“In that conversation, he assured me that despite the conflict happening now in the Middle East and elsewhere around the world, the commitment of the United States is still strong,” Brawner said, adding that this year’s Balikatan exercises are expected to be the largest ever conducted.

The annual drills, a cornerstone of the Philippine-U.S. alliance, have evolved from a bilateral training activity into a broad multilateral exercise reflecting shifting regional security dynamics.

More than 17,000 troops from the Philippines and the United States are participating this year, joined by forces from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, and New Zealand.

The scale and diversity of participation underscore what Brawner described as a “shared responsibility of nations committed to peace.”

In addition to participating countries, 17 other nations have sent observers. Among them, the Netherlands is joining for the first time, expanding the growing list of international stakeholders monitoring the exercises.

Brawner noted that the drills will span the Philippine archipelago from Northern Luzon to Palawan, and across the Visayas and Mindanao. 

“This is where capability meets interoperability, where coordination becomes cohesion, and where preparation becomes deterrence,” he said. 

“Through integrated air and missile defense, maritime security operations, live fire exercises, and joint multinational readiness training, we are building more than capability,” he further stressed. 

Exercise Balikatan 41-2026 runs from 20 April to 8 May and is expected to showcase enhanced interoperability among allied forces, even as global security challenges continue to evolve.