The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns the Marcos regime and its armed forces, the US and Japanese military forces for holding the so-called Doshin-Bayanihan 2024 military exercises at the Ebuen Air Base in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu which started last October 2, and ended on October 7.

These military exercises form part of the continued worsening of imperialist military intervention in the country by the US and its allied powers. These blatantly disregard the country’s national sovereignty and further pulls the country into the vortex of rising inter-imperialist conflict. 

More than 1,000 US soldiers and other foreign troopers were in the Philippines for the Kamandag 8-24 war games from October 15 to 25. This is another series of war games aimed at countering the rival imperialist power of China. 

The war games will involved 1,150 Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) personnel, 1,150 US Marine Corps troopers, 58 from South Korea, 54 from Japan, eight from the United Kingdom, five from Australia, two from France, and one each from Thailand and Indonesia.

The Mutual Defense Board-Security, composed of military officials from the US and the Philippines, planned the activities for the Kamandag war games, which is aimed at strengthening US military control over the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). 

According to the PMC, the main activities were held in the area covered by the Northern Command, Western Command Joint Operational Command, and also in Manila and Cavite. These areas are located in the western part of the Philippines, which is closest to the West Philippine Sea, where the conflict is heating up.

The activities include combined arms littoral live-fire in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in Burgos, amphibious assault, raids, and counter-landing exercises in Aborlan and Rizal, Palawan, and a forum at Marine Barracks Rudi Brown, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

From January to August this year, nearly every two days, the US military has launched war games on land, air and water in the Philippines. These war games have been recorded for at least 105 out of 244 days, with the longest and uninterrupted war games from April 7 to June 21 (76 days). At least 21,000 US troopers, Australian soldiers, Canadian, Japanese, French and other foreign troopers participated in these war games.

The US and Japan aim to use the country as foothold for their imperialist power projection operations, particularly directed against their imperialist rival China. Upon US prodding, Japan has been increasing defense spending to build up its military forces and increase its maritime activities in the West Philippine Sea. Japanese military intervention in the Philippines is bound to worsen if the Philippine Senate ratifies the Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan.

The Party condemns the use of “humanitarian assistance and disaster response” as pretext for these military exercises which serve the singular purpose of further extending and strengthening the presence of US and Japanese military forces in the Philippines.

Marcos Jr.’s betrayal is an affront to the memory of millions of victims of massacres, rape and plunder committed by the Japanese Imperial forces during the Second World War.#