The Bayan Muna Party-list condemned the SABAK 2025 war games (combination of Salaknib and Balikatan war games) which officially commenced on March 24 at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. Primary participants in the war games are Armed Forces of the Philippines soldiers and United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) forces. Other foreign military forces are also expected to participate.

Bayan Muna second nominee Atty. Carlos Zarate said these war games are “blatant affront to Philippine sovereignty and a manifestation of the Marcos Jr administration’s subservience to US hegemonic interests.”

The former legislator emphasized that the war games will only cause turmoil in the region and intensify tension with the US’s rival imperialist China. “These expose our country to heightened geopolitical tension, particularly in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

Atty. Zarate added that these have no intention of defending the Philippines, contrary to what officials of the Marcos regime are saying. “This is about projecting US power in the region,” he said.

“The Marcos Jr. administration’s eagerness to participate in these war games reveals a dangerous lack of independent foreign policy,” he added. This allegedly also shows the regime’s willingness to sacrifice national interest for the sake of US patronage.

Phase 1 of Salaknib will be held from March 24 to April 11, and Phase 2 will be from May 19 to July 20 at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, and in the areas of operation of the 5th ID in North Luzon and 7th ID in Central Luzon. For the first stage of the war games, an estimated 3,000 soldiers from the Philippine Army and 2,000 soldiers from the US Army Pacific will participate.

Meanwhile, the Balikatan war games are scheduled to be conducted from April 21 to May 9. No less than 16,000 American, Filipino, Japanese and Australian troops are stated to participate in the war games.