Admiral Samuel Paparo Jr., commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said this year's Balikatan exercises ''' made us faster and better, and this is warfighting in the 21st century.''

Paparo said five partner nations were added to the drill which closed Friday, This year's Balikatan exercises started last April 20 and participated by over 17,000 troops from seven participating nations including Philippines, United States, France, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan.

''Balikatan 2026 marks a strategic execution from a bilateral exercise to a full-scale multinational mission rehearsal for the defense of the Republic of the Philippines,'' he said.

'' This growth reflects the dangerous security environment we live in, and it also requests the sovereign choices of partner nations,'' said Paparo.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. is looking forward to a more "impactful" Balikatan exercise in 2027.

Teodoro envisioned an expanded scope and integration of more technical development for next year's Balikatan exercises.

"I also look forward to the next iteration's activities so that we can incorporate more in scope, not necessarily in scale, more scenarios, more technology, transfer of learning, but more important, more deterrence and more interoperability," he said.

"I look forward to a more purposive and impactful Balikatan next year. Of course, that term is relative given the outside events that we must pay attention to. Because not only domain awareness is necessary, but situational awareness and the ability to nuance geopolitical developments in our operations," he added.

Teodoro mentioned the possibility of conducting more military exercises and activities in the eastern seaboards of the country in next year's Balikatan drills.

"Probably, maybe, we might want to see more activities on the Eastern seaboard, it will depend on what they are going to propose to us. We will have a debriefing to see what we need to improve, what are the mistakes that should not be repeated," he said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. also announced a plan to expand the operation of future Balikatan exercises outside the Philippines

"When we say outside the Philippines, it doesn't mean to say that we're sending troops outside of the country," he said.

"What we plan to do is just to establish communications networks outside the Philippines because right now, the communication is confined to the archipelago. But of course, we want to communicate with other headquarters outside the boundaries of the Philippines," he added.

Teodoro also noted that the military drills of the AFP with its allied forces is a deterrence as much as it is a training exercise.

"No country worth its salt will not deter any external aggression or any potential future threat whatsoever," he said.

"We do this because we want our people to have... a peaceful space in order to develop. But the reality of the world is that you cannot secure a safe space for people to live the way they want if you do not ironclad this space, which is precisely what we are doing," said Teodoro. Robina Asido/PHS