The National Democratic Front (NDF)-Palawan condemned the US for its Alon 2025 war games, being held by Australian and Philppine military forces in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). These war games started on August 15 and will last until August 29. Alon 2025 is recognized as Australia’s largest war games outside its own territory.

Disguised as bilateral exercises between Australia and the Philippines, the US in fact directs the Alon 2025 war games. The war games officially began at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command headquarters in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, where the US Task Force Ayungin is also based.

The military activities will mainly take place in Palawan, Mindoro, and other parts of Luzon. At least 3,600 soldiers are participating in the war games, including 1,600 from Australia, 1,525 from the Philippines, 180 from Canada, and 350 from the US, with “observers” from other Asian countries.

“These aim to heighten tensions in the WPS through shows of force and power by the allied countries Australia, the Philippines, the US, and Canada against China in the Indo-Pacific region,” NDF-Palawan spokesperson Ka Leona Paragua said.

She said Alon 2025 war games, like Balikatan 2025 and many other US war games in the Philippines, are integral to US war provocations in the Indo-Pacific. “These drag the so-called ‘allied’ countries in the region to launch and participate in joint military exercises and saber rattling,” she explained.

Ka Leona added that the amphibious landing operations, naval maneuvers, a mass airlift of an Australian Army battle group, and live-fire exercises will once again disrupt the lives and livelihoods of the people. “The residents are already terrorized by their mere military presence, and certainly worse by the deafening gunfire and other war weapons the training will use,” the spokesperson said.

The people of Palawan feel greater alarm over Alon 2025 war games in light of escalating tensions and recent confrontations in the WPS between the military and naval forces of China and the Philippines, spurred on by the US. In response, NDF-Palawan called on the people of Palawan to oppose the Marcos regime’s use of the country for US imperialist schemes.

“Demand the termination of military exercises with foreign imperialist countries, and the end of unequal agreements and policies with foreign powers that exploit the regime’s subservience,” Ka Leona declared.