Australia launched successive war games in the Philippines in the past months. These align with the strategic defense plan of maintaining US hegemony in the Asia-Pacific, where Australia holds a large advantage.

These war games include Alon 2025, conducted on land and sea in Palawan, Mindoro, and other parts of Luzon. In this war game, Australia deployed the largest number of soldiers to Southeast Asia since its intervention in East Timor in 1999. Prior to this, Australia launched Kasangga 2025, a counterinsurgency training at Camp Kibaritan in Bukidnon.

Australia also recently pushed for building its own bases in the Philippines to host its growing number of troops and matériel in the country. On August 22, defense officials of Australia and the Philippines signed the Statement of Intent for Enhanced Defense Cooperation to pave the way for this goal. The agreement will be finalized in 2026.

This agreement will allow Australia to permanently preposition troops in the Philippines, launch large war games, and invest in “defense infrastructure” or military bases. This agreement will resemble the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the US, which tramples on the country’s sovereignty and binds it to armed conflicts stoked by the US.

Australia’s troops, vehicles, and war matériel will augment the already massive US military machinery spread across the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the US directed the AFP to open another naval base in Mahatao, Batanes this September. The base is part of the network of forward operating bases the US is building on the islands of Batanes (another is located on Mavulis Island) for their proximity to Taiwan.

In related news, the Marcos regime was exposed for opening Camp Cape Bojeador in Burgos, Ilocos Norte as a US ammunition depot. These latest steps further drag the Philippines deeper into the escalating US conflict against China.