Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Ilocos condemned the 4th Marine Brigade (4th MBde) for its new series of war games dubbed “TUW” 01-24 in Northern Luzon from August 27 to September 4. They denounced the military exercise for the extreme damage to the daily lives and livelihoods of the people of Ilocos and adjacent provinces up to Cagayan. The deployment of massive military and police forces bring havoc and deafening explosions.

The war games included conducting combat maneuvers, coordinated movements and actions, close engagement with targets, shelling and support operations. The 4th MBde said this is part of their mandate for “territorial defense.”

On August 26, communities in the towns of Badoc and Pinili in Ilocos Norte reported the influx of police forces and soldiers from the 4th MBde. Residents said they brought material and construction tools for the camp they built. Cannons and other military weapons were concurrently brought in.

In La Union, military training was conducted in the area covered by the Poro Point Freeport Zone and in Barangay Sibuan-Otong in San Fernando City on August 31.

“BAYAN Ilocos stands united with the people of Ilocos in demanding an end to militarization and military exercises in the provinces of Ilocos Norte and La Union. These activities pose significant dangers and threats to the livelihoods and security of civilian communities,” the group declared.

Underscoring this, these activities of the intensified military presence of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Marines in strategic areas in Ilocos are US instigations and part of its brewing war against China.

From April to May, war games were launched in several parts of the region under the largest Balikatan with 16,000 American troops in attendance. Since April, the US has positioned the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system in Ilocos Norte, which was denounced by Russia and China as both considered it a threat to their security. As a result, the US said it would withdraw such weapons this September.

“Marcos Jr should be criticized for his continued subservience to the US, effectively converting the Philippines into a military base for US forces while using the AFP to orchestrate a proxy war against China,” Bayan-Ilocos said. It calls to expel the Ameican base and troops from the country for the sake of the Ilocanos and Filipinos.