MGen Francisco F Lorenzo Jr., Commander of the AFP Education, Training and Doctrine Command, pins the ALON Exercise 2025 patch on Deputy Chief of Joint Operations MGen Hugh McAslan. Photo by PFC Carmelotes PN(M)

PH and Australia conduct largest combat drills facing South China Sea

Jeoffrey Maitem - : Aug 18, 2025 - : 5:14 pm

Amid heightened tension, the Philippines and Australia recently launched a two-week largest military drills in Palawan, an Island facing the South China Sea. The exercises, called Exercise Alon 25, meaning wave in the Philippine language, were participated by 3,600 military personnel from...

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Amid heightened tension, the Philippines and Australia recently launched a two-week largest military drills in Palawan, an Island facing the South China Sea.

The exercises, called Exercise Alon 25, meaning wave in the Philippine language, were participated by 3,600 military personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Australian Defense Force, Royal Canadian Navy and the United States Marine Corps’ Marine Rotational Force – Darwin.

“The Alon flag represents our unity of purpose—our readiness to sail and march together in defense of peace,” said AFP Chief Romeo Brawner Jnr said.

“The patches now worn by our troops are a mark of belonging—to a team that crosses national borders, speaks the same language of duty and shares the same mission.”

During the combat exercises, which run until August 29, will showcase a guided-missile destroyer, F/A-18 supersonic fighter jets, a C-130 transport aircraft, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and sniper rifles used by special forces.

Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral Justin Jones, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), said Exercise Alon 25 demonstrated the strength of the Australian-Philippines security partnership.

From its first iteration in 2023, Exercise Alon, according to Jones, has grown to incorporate training across the maritime, sea and air domains, with essential support from cyber and space domains.

“The value of this training comes from the people-to-people links and the opportunity to exchange practices when we conduct an Exercise of this scale. We will come away from Exercise Alon 25 with experience that will enhance our interoperability with the Philippines, and ensure that we can work together in support of regional security,” Jones said in a statement.

“Exercise Alon 25 is an opportunity for us to practise how we collaborate and respond to shared security challenges, and project force over great distances in the Indo-Pacific.”

Manila and Australia conducted the combat drills days after the August 11 incident where a coast guard vessel collided with a Chinese Navy warship while chasing a Philippine ship in the West Philippine Sea.

In April this year, Australia has helped Manila bolster its maritime domain awareness capabilities and meet operational demands by formally donating 20 units of Unmanned Aerial Systems.

In late 2024, Canberra said it would double its civil maritime cooperation with the Philippines to PHP649 million from 2025 to 2029.

Australian-defence-force-adf / Armed-forces-of-the-philippines-afp / South-china-sea / Exercise-alon-2025 /

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