On June 22, Filipinos and Australians protested in Sydney, Australia a few days before the official conclusion of the Australia-Philippines Kasangga war games held in the Philippines. Groups gathered at Sydney Town Hall before marching towards Defence Plaza at Pitt Street.

Led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Australia, they called for the expulsion of all foreign troops from the Philippines and asserted the need for an independent foreign policy. This includes Australian troops who descend on the Philippines annually for war games.

This year, the Kasangga war games began with the participation of the Philippine Army and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) on May 19 at Camp Evangelista, Barangay Patag, Cagayan de Oro City. The exercises officially ended on June 24.

At least 90 soldiers from the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment of the Australian Army and 140 soldiers from the Philippine Army participated in the war games. Military activities were launched at Camp Kibaritan, Kalilangan, Bukidnon.

In 2024, two series of Kasangga war games were held in Northern Luzon and Bicol.

“Together with other networks beyond the Filipino diaspora, we stand against a system that profits from militarization in the global south,” Anakbayan Sydney, a member of Bayan-Australia, said. The Filipino youth group stated that the ongoing militarization in the Philippines forms part of a global system that affects us all.

Anakbayan Sydney urged Australians to ask questions, speak out, and stand with Filipinos. “Your tax money is funding military deals. Your silence is their approval,” the group said.

The Philippines Australia Union Link joined the action. The group’s spokesperson, Peter Murphy, called on the Australian government to withdraw from military agreements with the Philippine government and to stop sending Australian soldiers there.

Bayan-Australia has earlier denounced the Kasangga war games and the presence of Australian troops in the Philippines as “not a separate activity but part of a series of continuous military engagements that serve the strategic interests of the US in the Indo-Pacific region.”

The Australian military follows the US under the military alliance AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States), which the US established to strengthen its military presence in the Asia-Pacific. In line with the Indo-Pacific strategy, the US and its allied countries are increasing their presence in the Asia-Pacific to counter the growing military and economic influence of China in the region.