Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Gen.l Romeo Brawner Jr., and his counterpart, Lt. Gen. William M. Jurney, Commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, unfurl the Balikatan flag as they officially open the 39th iteration of Balikatan at Camp Aguinaldo on April 22, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- The Balikatan Exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States Armed Forces is the "perfect training ground" for the Philippine government's Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC), a US Marine Corps lieutenant general said on Wednesday. 

Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm, the commanding general of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, said the largest annual Philippine-led bilateral exercise with the US will significantly contribute to Manila's CADC.

The concept, which was announced by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. earlier this year, calls for incorporating all services of the AFP in defending Philippine waters, particularly the country's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

"We have great capabilities. The army, the air force, and the AFP modernization efforts are all designed to plug into the CADC. I think it's a natural wedding of capabilities and modernization. This is the perfect training ground for us to do that," Cederholm told reporters in a media conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. 

"There is a natural plug-in point… We've undergone force design, operate as a naval expeditionary force in the littorals. We're bringing that capabilities over here. We have the Marine Littoral Regiment that's working here and is a logical plug-in point for coastal defense… so I'm excited about that," he added.

Cederholm noted that the Balikatan this year will focus on integrated air missile defense, cyber defense, and other drills that will serve as a deterrent against external threats. 

"We're not looking for a fight… Everything we are doing is defensive in nature," he said. 

The Balikatan Exercise started on April 22 and will run until May 10. 

READ: Philippines, US launch annual joint military drills

READ: PH gears up for Balikatan exercises

TRANSPORTING THE MID-RANGE CAPABILITY MISSILE SYSTEM 

The AFP and the USAF will also test and study the mobility and logistics of the Typhon mid-range capability (MRC) weapon system, Washington's newest ground-based missile. 

The MRC reached the Philippines aboard the C-17 Globemaster III airframe on April 11. It is currently in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. 

"The MRC is a defensive weapons capability. We are bringing it in to test how it communicates and operates, interoperability with the AFP, how you move it, the mobility and the logistics. But I think, also, that it is important to put it in a bigger context: Balikatan 2024 is an exercise that is 39 years old. It is defensive in nature. If we improve our interoperability as both the US services and the AFP go through modernization efforts, it's important for us to gather our forces together to constantly figure out how we integrate new capabilities and how we make our readiness better and how we communicate about those," Cederholm said. 

This is the missile system's first deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. Cederholm, however, declined to disclose how long the MRC will be deployed in Luzon. 

The MRC launchers can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM).

"I think it's just a good opportunity for us to continue to exercise and increase our readiness. It's a defensive posture. When we're done training with it, we will bring it back home and continue to develop our tactics, techniques and procedures," the official added. 

READ: Training exercises help AFP ‘prepare for war’ - Balikatan executive agent

'A SHARED VISION'

Cederholm stressed that both the Philippine government and the US government have a shared vision: to have a free and open Indo-Pacific. 

He also reiterated Washington's ironclad commitment to Manila under the two countries' Mutual Defense Treaty. 

"You can characterize that by the following: 1) transparency; 2) order of law, rule of law; 3) the respect of sovereignty; and 4) seeking peaceful resolution of conflict. I think that that's what the opportunity that the US looks to join into," Cederholm said. 

He then continued: "We've done this for 39 years… This alliance between the US and the Philippines has been in place for over 70 years. It's an ironclad alliance. It's one we take seriously and we honor, and we look forward to train in the opportunities that come with that integration both on the ground and in our communities."

READ: Marcos Jr says inclusion of Japan in Balikatan exercises a good move

RELATED VIDEO: