The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Australia condemned the ongoing Kasangga 2025-01 war games by the Philippine Army and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) on Philippine territory. The military officially opened these exercises during a program at Camp Evangelista, Barangay Patag, Cagayan de Oro City on May 19.

At least 90 Australian Army’s 1st Combat Engineer Regiment soldiers and 140 Philippine Army soldiers are participating in the war games. The military activities are being held at Camp Kibaritan, Kalilangan, Bukidnon and will last until June 24.

In 2024, two series of Kasangga war games launched in Northern Luzon and Bicol. The 9th and 5th ID participated in these war games.

“This exercise… is not an isolated event but forms part of a series of continuous military engagements that serve the strategic interests of the US in the Indo-Pacific region,” stated Bayan-Australia. The Australian military follows US leadership under the military alliance AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States).

The US formed AUKUS to strengthen its military presence in the Asia-Pacific. In line with the Indo-Pacific strategy, the US and its allied countries build up their presence in the Asia-Pacific to counter the growing military and economic influence of China in the region.

Bayan-Australia condemned the Marcos regime for kowtowing to the imperialist US. “By allowing increasing foreign troop presence and joint military exercises like Kasangga, the Marcos Jr. administration is not defending Philippine sovereignty–it is betraying it,” the group said.

The group stated that the Marcos regime is using Filipinos for the US’ aggressive aim to maintain hegemony in the Indo-Pacific. “Instead of asserting an independent foreign policy that upholds peace and national dignity, the Marcos government willingly plays the role of junior partner to U.S. militarism, dragging the country deeper into the crosshairs of inter-imperialist conflict and endangering the lives and future of ordinary Filipinos,” affirmed the group.

Meanwhile, the group also denounced the Australian government for squandering funds on pointless war games and military activities for the sake of the US, while its own citizens suffer from a severe crisis. “The Australian people have a responsibility to resist their government’s role in foreign aggression, oppose Australian foreign military aid to the Philippines, and to stand in solidarity with the Filipino people’s struggle against militarisation and imperialist intervention,” the group said.

Bayan-Australia emphasized the importance of collective resistance in challenging the imperialist agendas that compromise the nation’s independence and the well-being of its people. “Together, we can forge a path toward genuine peace and sovereignty,” the group declared.