Jamaine Punzalan

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the annual Philippines-U.S. joint military exercise, Balikatan, at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, on April 21, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

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BALIKATAN 2025

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

<div> <span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176223804048220250421-balikatan-2025-opening-ceremony-MT11.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the annual Philippines-U.S. joint military exercise, Balikatan, at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, on April 21, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday opened the ninth iteration of the joint exercise Dagat, Langit, Lupa (AJEX DAGITPA) with a strong message from AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr: the Philippines must be prepared to defend itself for 30 days before expecting help from its treaty ally, the United States, and other partner nations.</p><p>“Kung sakaling magkaroon ng giyera o kaguluhan man dito sa ating lugar, our ally and our partners are expecting us to fight the war ourselves during the first part of the conflict,” Brawner said in his speech during the opening ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.</p><p>“Tayo muna ang makikipag-giyera, kaya&#x27;t napakaimportante nung ating Unilateral Defense Plan (UDP) at itong ginagawa nating exercise na ito,” he added.</p><p>The Unilateral Defense Plan (UDP) is the AFP’s strategy to sustain operations independently before forces from the country’s ally and partners can mobilize.</p><p>The plan integrates new dimensions of warfare beyond land, air and sea domains.</p><p>“Our UDP has been around for a long time. At first, it was UDP-AGILA. Now, we are changing it. We are in the process of revising our Unilateral Defense Plan dahil nakita natin na di katulad ng dati na ang kalaban lang natin ay in the domains of air, land and water, ngayon, may ibang forms of warfare na, like cyber, information, electromagnetic, and even space,” Brawner said.</p><p>In a chance interview with reporters, Brawner said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive is for the AFP to sustain unilateral defense operations for 20 to 30 days in case of conflict.</p><p>“The order of our President, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is that we should be able to fight and preserve our forces for at least 20 to 30 days. So, ‘yan ang pinaghahandaan natin. Kailangan kaya nating lumaban na tayo lang for about 20 to 30 days,” the military chief noted.</p><p>Brawner said the Philippines’ Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States remains vital, but it does not guarantee immediate support in the early stages of conflict.</p><p>Hence, the AFP must rely on its own capabilities.</p><p>“Kailangan nating depensahan ang ating bansa. Tayo muna. We have to rely on ourselves first. Kaya tuluy-tuloy ang ating exercises, gaya nitong AJEX [DAGITPA]. Tayo lang ito—ang Armed Forces of the Philippines—together with the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police, so that we can see where we are, what is the extent of our defense,” Brawner said.</p><p>“And definitely, because we have a Mutual Defense Treaty with our only treaty ally, the United States, we are expecting that na kapag nagkagulo, siyempre, tayo muna ang makikipaggiyera. But we are expecting also reinforcements or help from our ally, and this is under the MDT,” he added. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/1/marcos-jr-hopes-task-force-philippines-will-lower-tensions-in-west-ph-sea-1842">Marcos Jr. hopes &#x27;Task Force Philippines&#x27; will &#x27;lower tensions&#x27; in West PH Sea</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>CHANGING TRAINING AUDIENCE</strong></div><p>One big change will be implemented in this year’s AJEX DAGITPA: shifting the main training audience from the General Headquarters Battle Staff to the newly activated AFP Strategic Command.</p><p>Brawner shared that the change was necessary after realizing that the Chief of Staff could not effectively serve as both the overall military chief and commander of the Joint Task Force Philippines in case of a war or crisis.</p><p>“Nakita ko na hindi pala kaya, hindi kaya ng Chief of Staff to wear two hats in times of crisis, in times of war, for instance. Dahil napakalaki ng responsibilidad ng overall commander of the Armed Forces during the conflict, at the same time, the adviser to the Commander-in-Chief or the President,” the AFP chief said.</p><p>“I saw that the Battle Staff here at the GHQ could not transform overnight into a full-blown Battle Staff to fight the war. That is why I was convinced that, really, we have to organize the AFP Strategic Command. So, this year, it will now be the AFP Strategic Command who will be the main training audience,” he continued. </p><p>“Despite the lack of resources of the AFP Strategic Command—human resources, facilities, financial resources, logistical resources—they will be the main training audience, and the reason why we are doing this is so that they will know the gaps that they need to fill in.” </p><p>Brawner said that modern warfare demands adaptability and inter-agency cooperation.</p><p>He cited the participation of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine National Police (PNP), and even the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the reserve force in the country’s collective defense posture.</p><p>“In case of conflict, it will not only be the Armed Forces of the Philippines who will be involved. We will have to involve the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police, as well as the other uniformed services like the Bureau of Fire Protection, et cetera. And all of us will be under the command of our Commander-in-Chief, the President. Lahat ng mga uniformed services,” Brawner said.</p><p>“If something happens, we need to combine and we need to act as one force,” he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/28/chinese-vessels-spotted-anew-inside-ph-eez-during-pcg-s-martime-domain-awareness-flight-1811">Chinese vessels spotted anew inside PH EEZ during PCG’s martime domain awareness flight</a></div><div> </div><div><strong>BRAWNER: WE CAN DEFEND OUR COUNTRY, BUT KULANG PA</strong></div><p>Despite the ongoing modernization of the AFP, Brawner admitted that the military still faced significant capability gaps, particularly in covering the country’s vast maritime and airspace domains.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/28/afp-welcomes-dnd-push-to-fast-track-modernization-program-2248">AFP welcomes DND push to fast-track modernization program</a></div><p>“Considering the threats that we&#x27;re facing, of course, we will compare our capability with the capability of our other neighbors. Not just a specific neighbor, but our other neighbors. So, marami pa tayong dapat gawin. Marami pa tayong dapat ayusin,” Brawner told reporters.</p><p>“So, we can do it. We have the capability. We can defend our country, pero ang sinasabi ko, kulang pa. Because if we consider the entire archipelago, hindi kaya ng current na kagamitan natin i-cover ang entire archipelago. In fact, as of now, we are only focused here in the West Philippine Sea, in the northern part of our country. Nakikita natin na kulang pa. But we are now in the process of modernizing our armed forces. Kaya’t kailangang kailangan natin ang tulong ng ating Congress para mabigyan tayo ng pondo para sa ating modernization,” he added.</p><p>Brawner noted that the Philippines is already in a constant state of defense—through daily challenges to its sovereignty and information warfare.</p><p>“But as of now, personally, I can say that we are already a world-class army—a world-class armed forces. Hindi lang naman sa kagamitan nakikita ang pagiging world-class, but we are one of the most experienced armed forces around the world dahil tuluy-tuloy ang giyera kung saan ang ating mga sundalo ay tuluy-tuloy ding hinahasa ang ating skills and competencies,” the AFP chief said.</p><p>“The realities of the West Philippine Sea remind us that deterrence is not built overnight. Rather, it is strengthened through training and unity of purpose. In these pressing times when our sovereignty is constantly challenged, exercises become our living proof of readiness and resolve. They edify not only our defenses but also our collective will to protect every inch of our maritime domain. As I have always said, we are already at war… I want us to have that mindset. We are not at war with bullets and bombs, but with disinformation, with coercion, and with encroachment into our territories, into our exclusive economic zone (EEZ),” he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/12/dfa-to-file-diplomatic-protest-over-recent-ramming-water-cannon-incident-in-wps-1801">DFA to file diplomatic protest over recent ramming, water cannon incident in WPS</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zoz2kYXGE8s?si=6_gYkwxxul3kUs1D" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>“Kung sakaling magkaroon ng giyera o kaguluhan man dito sa ating lugar, our ally and our partners are expecting us to fight the war ourselves during the first part of the conflict,” AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said in his speech during the opening ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.</p>

“Kung sakaling magkaroon ng giyera o kaguluhan man dito sa ating lugar, our ally and our partners are expecting us to fight the war ourselves during the first part of the conflict,” AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said in his speech during the opening ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Brawner: In case of war, PH must be ready to defend itself for 30 days before ally, partners step in

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Brawner: In case of war, PH must be ready to defend itself for 30 days before ally, partners step in

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 04, 2025 02:37 PM PHT

Read More:

AJEX DAGITPA

Armed Forces of the Philippines

Unilateral Defense Plan

General Romeo Brawner Jr.

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