By Wu Qiaoxi | 2026-05-06

Japan took on an expanded combat role at Exercise Balikatan 2026, joining US, Philippine and Canadian forces in a live-fire counter-landing drill on Philippine soil as a fully integrated participant in a layered, multi-domain defense operation.

More than 800 troops from the four countries held a live-fire exercise at the Laoag sand dunes on May 4 as part of the annual drills. The training ground sits roughly 80km from the Luzon Strait, a critical maritime corridor between the South China Sea and the western Pacific.

The United States provided the largest contingent, supported by Philippine, Japanese and Canadian forces. Among them were Japanese paratroopers from Sasebo's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, who marked a historic shift from their previous observer status by firing mortars and engaging drones alongside allied units.

Layered defense

The engagement unfolded in coordinated tiers.

Philippine air force A-29 Super Tucano aircraft and T-129 ATAK helicopters, supported by US High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, struck simulated enemy amphibious vehicles offshore. A Philippine naval patrol gunboat fired simulated antiship missiles as the scenario progressed.

When landing craft approached the beach, US F-16 Fighting Falcons, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles pressed the engagement. Infantry from all four nations held the final defensive line, according to the US military.

The drill's architecture prioritized synchronization over spectacle. "The reason why we do this training is because it's difficult. It takes a lot of work, coordination, and synchronization," Maj. Gen. James Bartholomees, commander of the 25th Infantry Division and Balikatan's land component lead, said following the exercise.

"The focus should not be on what you saw, but on the synchronization that was required to execute this, which is incredibly important and incredibly dangerous," he added.

Unmanned systems in the center of it

Unmanned systems were embedded directly into the kill chain rather than relegated to a supporting role, with airborne and surface drones operating offshore throughout the engagement.

"The training that we're conducting as part of Exercise Balikatan is becoming more complex across all domains: air, sea and the land," Bartholomees said.

Modernization efforts extend beyond aerial platforms to include maritime autonomous capabilities, he said. All participating nations are working to expand their unmanned portfolios, he added, according to Nikkei Asia.

Philippine Maj. Gen. Aristotle Gonzales, Northern Luzon Command chief, emphasized the defensive nature of the drills. "We are simulating scenarios that test our ability to respond to any force approaching from the sea," Gonzales told Stars and Stripes, adding that the training was "not directed toward any particular country."

Japan's shift

Japan's participation represented the most visible dividend of the Philippine-Japanese Reciprocal Access Agreement, which took effect last September and formally opened the door for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to move from observation toward fuller combat integration.

About 1,400 Japanese personnel participated in Balikatan 2026, including from the Joint Operations Command and Cyber Defense Command, Nikkei Asia reported.

Col. Sho Tomino, commander of Japan's 2nd Amphibious Rapid Deployment Regiment, said the drill delivered results that domestic training cannot replicate. "There are exercises that we can't fully conduct domestically. This got significant results in terms of training proficiency," Tomino told Nikkei Asia.