CPP urges voters to push presidential bets to halt Balikatan exercises

BIGGEST SO FAR This year’s Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) war games, the biggest joint military training between Filipino and American soldiers, returns to Crow Valley gunnery range (Colonel Ernesto Ravina Air Base) in Capas, Tarlac province, for the combined arms live fire exercises on Thursday. Participating troops exchange knowledge in tactics as they train together using modern weapons and other military assets, like a US Apache helicopter (center). —PHOTOS BY RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Friday urged Filipino voters to push their presidential bets to halt joint military exercises between Filipino and American soldiers, making sure that the current war games this year will be the last.

CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena, in a statement, called the Balikatan exercises as “outright violation of the country’s sovereignty.”

He further said that the joint military exercises between the two longtime allies may escalate military conflicts that might further exacerbate relations with China.

”These military operations increase the risk of the country being pulled into a potential US and China military conflict, which is why the people must act and demand those seeking their votes to do away with them,” Valbuena said.

While the government said Balikatan was done in commitment to the mutual defense treaty of two countries, Valbuena said the joint military exercise could pose danger to the country instead.

“If the government continues to allow the US military to use the Philippines for its war games and saber-rattling, there will be rising danger of the country turning into a war zone for its inter-imperialist conflict with China similar to how Ukraine became a war zone for the US proxy war with Russia.”

Of all the 10 presidential candidates in the upcoming presidential elections, only labor leader Leody De Guzman has a known stand against the Balikatan exercises, which he called “provocative.”

Joined by 5,100 American soldiers and 3,800 Philippine military personnel, the Balikatan started on Monday, March 28, and will last until April 8.

EDV