US, Philippines Deepen Partnership to Counter Cyber Threats

Jeoffrey Maitem - : Nov 26, 2025 - : 3:55 pm

Longtime allies the United States and the Philippines are set to incorporate cutting-edge technology in combating cyber threats during large-scale military drills next year. Last week, Jennifer Schmidt, chief of the U.S. Embassy’s Information and Communications Technology unit, said they...

To read the full article, please log in or enter your email below:

Longtime allies the United States and the Philippines are set to incorporate cutting-edge technology in combating cyber threats during large-scale military drills next year.

Last week, Jennifer Schmidt, chief of the U.S. Embassy’s Information and Communications Technology unit, said they are currently working to evolve the upcoming 2026 large-scale Balikatan exercise to reflect the reality that cyber operations are integral to every military mission.

Balikatan, which means “shoulder to shoulder,” is an annual large-scale military exercise involving American and Filipino troops. It is conducted under the Visiting Forces Agreement, a 1999 bilateral accord that provides the legal framework for joint military drills between the United States and the Philippines.

“So, we're working alongside our Filipino partners to incorporate cutting-edge training ranges and robust cyber threat software into these exercise scenarios,” Schmidt said during a panel discussion at the 2025 Pilipinas Conference in Makati City.

According to her, Washington and Manila’s cyber cooperation is rapidly moving from an emerging area to a “central pillar” in the Philippines-US alliance.

“We're focused on making this progress sustained and scalable by integrating cyber defense across all government levels and fostering a deeper, more resilient technical partnership,” Schmidt said.

Expert said Manila remains in the early stages of developing its cyber defense capabilities, with significant fragmentation in how cybersecurity measures are implemented.

“The involvement of the US is a welcome development. I believe that their assistance will go beyond the defense/military digital ecosystem to include critical sectors, especially in government,” according to Sherwin Ona, supervising fellow of the Philippine Public Safety College’s cyber leadership program,

He added: “This can also mean that critical supply chains can be included in the overall collective defense effort. Examples of these sectors are power and telecoms.”

Ona, however, described Manila and the US move as significant and reflects growing recognition of Manila’s cyber vulnerabilities amid a surge in offensive cyber activities.

“This elevates cyber as a national security concern and underscores the importance of achieving resilience,” he said.