The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) condemned the Doshin-Bayanihan 5-25 war games between Japan and the Philippines, which spearheaded the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) made official by the two governments on September 11. Japan and the Philippines held the war games in Cebu on October 7-11 after a strong earthquake struck the province.

Japan exploited the Cebuanos’ situation to disguise the war games’ violation of Philippine national sovereignty through its so-called Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR). Japan brought various warplanes and military personnel into Philippine territory.

According to Bayan, Japan could have helped earthquake and disaster victims in the Philippines without sending troops and conducting war games in the country. Instead of providing assistance, the war games only trample on Philippine sovereignty and insult the victims of Japan’s brutal and violent occupation from 1941 to 1945.

“The distribution of relief is a performative, tokenistic, and malicious propaganda cover-up of the alarming return of Japan’s military forces at the behest of US imperialism,” Bayan stated.

The group added that the war games solely aim to promote the US imperialism’s geopolitical interests in the Asia Pacific region. “The war exercises would supposedly enhance regional cooperation, but this not only undermines our sovereignty but also our national security while endangering the local population,” Bayan stated.

“They aim to boost its First Island Chain defenses in the Pacific by provocatively establishing bases and military facilities, deploying troops and weapons, and conducting war games with its allies, which further escalate tension and hostilities in the region,” Bayan said. The First Island Chain is a cluster of countries the US uses to block and contain the expansion of rival imperialist China’s interests.

In connection with this, Bayan reiterated its call for diplomatic and peaceful resolution of conflicts among nations, including the maritime territorial disputes between the Philippines and China. “We must not allow an imperialist power like the US to stoke tension by turning our lands and waters into a forward base for its military plans and operations,” the group said.

Bayan also denounced the puppet Marcos regime for allowing the US and Japan to revive their colonial military presence in the Philippines. “It further drags the country into a conflict that endangers the lives of Filipinos,” the group stated.