Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. announced the start of planning for next year's exercises as he formally declared the closure of the 40th iteration of the Balikatan exercises between the United States and Philippine forces on Friday.

"In fact, ladies and gentlemen, as we close this Balikatan exercise this morning, this afternoon, our planners are already going to start planning for the next iteration of Balikatan Exercise 41-2026," Brawner said he announced the formal closing of this year's exercises in a ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo.

As he expressed how he was impressed by the "deterrent effect" of this year's Balikatan exercises, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. noted that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano will also analyze next year's exercises to ensure that it is aligned with the existing challenges in the country.

"Now, this being the 40th iteration which culminated in the full battle exercise, what the President, Secretary Ano, and I would want to see is not only the execution of next year's exercises, but more importantly the choice of exercises, what you are going to be doing and where you are going to be doing them, what terrain you are going to operate in, what environments you are going to operate in," he said.

"Next year will not merely be an exercise in execution and choice of exercises, but we will go deep down into the assumptions on why you are training shoulder to shoulder to do a particular activity," he added.

Brawner said "Balikatan is not merely a series of military exercises" but "a demonstration of enduring partnerships and collaborative resolve" of the participating forces.

"It embodies our collective readiness to act in unison, underscoring that our greatest strength lies in unity. Moreover, this exercise reaffirms our dedication to peace, stability, and resilience across the Indo-Pacific region," he said.

"We also acknowledge the positive effects of our humanitarian initiatives, supporting education, delivering medical care, and fostering local development. Although these contributions may not make headlines, they are indeed vital to building a stable and inclusive community," he added.

Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm, Commander of the US Marine Expeditionary Forces said during the training participating forces build readiness and resilience.

"US and Filipino forces trained shoulder to shoulder across all domains and alongside Australia, Japan, and 18 observer nations during this Balikatan. Together, we executed complex training across the archipelago. Together, we are building readiness for today and resilience for tomorrow. From live fire drills to humanitarian missions, from maritime security in Palawan and Northern Luzon to sea denial in the Luzon Straits with the deployment of Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) to the Bataan Island, we advanced our capability to deter, respond, and prevail," he said.

"We integrated cutting-edge air and missile defense systems like MADIS, Avenger, and Spyder, strengthening our ability to survive and win in contested environments. We shared tactics, challenged assumptions, and built combat power," he added.

This year's Balikatan exercise that began last April 21 was participated by around 17,000 military forces from US and Philippine including the observers from other states including Australia and Japan. Robina Asido/DMS