Balikatan a nice rub on our soft underbelly

I can almost picture the eyes of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana getting moist as this year's edition of the Balikatan joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States kicked off Monday. It is the largest so far with close to 9,000 troops involved --3,800 from the Philippines, and 5,100 from the United States. No wonder Lorenzana was almost beside himself characterizing the event.

"This year's Balikatan is no ordinary iteration because it is the largest edition ever held...We are thus sending a message to the world that the alliance between our countries is stronger than ever and that we remain committed to stand shoulder to shoulder in response to the evolving security challenges that face both our nations and the region," Lorenzana said.

I can also almost picture many Filipinos waxing sentimental over such resounding words, drawing expectant meanings therefrom. Top of mind would be that if the Philippines somehow gets China to attack it and it invokes the RP-US defense treaty, America would come rushing to its defense. I hope it does not come to that, not only because war a terrible thing, but also because we are only bound to get frustrated.

The aforementioned mutual defense treaty notwithstanding, the security concerns of the United States have shifted over the years. The US may be the greatest country in the world but it is not impervious to weariness and pain. It has been involved in armed conflict in every decade since World War II, at great cost in the lives of its young men and women in uniform.

I do not doubt America's commitment to honor its alliances and treaty obligations. But I am no longer so sure about young American men being sent to die in defense of a country that is not their own. I think the term "come to the aid" has taken on a new meaning other than when it was first put to paper. To come to the aid of someone may no longer necessarily involve warm bodies and boots on the ground.

The ongoing war in Ukraine is instructive, as far as the US military is concerned. American aid for Ukraine comes largely in the form of hardware and technology assistance. No GIs are in harm's way in that unfortunate country. Only US military firepower is being provided the Ukrainian defenders. And even that came belatedly on account of US President Joe Biden's vacillation and tentativeness.

With that in mind, the Balikatan exercises, whether the biggest or the smallest, are instructive. They have always been about inter-operability and coordination, and transfer of technology. We are being taught the rudiments of fighting the modern war. Inter-operability and coordination suggest to me mere infusion of token numbers of US boots on Philippine soil, like experts providing intelligence.

Filipinos will still have to fight their own wars, only with American firepower in their hands. There will be no massive numbers of American soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder with their little brown brothers. We are virtually on our own. That should be our frame of mind. In fact that is the honorable way to go. Let us stop looking over our shoulders to see if Uncle Sam is right behind.

The Balikatan, though, is a good ploy to keep China guessing, that is if it has not seen through the ploy already. The exercises provide great optics. But while there is a universe of diversity on the issue, I still maintain that the US will no longer allow American boys to die for us. Our value as a strategic location diminished with the advent of high tech smart warfare and the weaponization of economic sanctions.