US, Philippines take cyberwar games to next level amid ‘pressure from China’

Next year’s Balikatan drills are set to incorporate advanced threat-emulation software to simulate live-fire cyber defence

Reading Time:3 minutes

US and Filipino soldiers salute during the opening ceremony of this year’s US-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercise on April 21. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:59pm, 26 Nov 2025Updated: 5:47pm, 26 Nov 2025

The United States and the Philippines are preparing to hardwire advanced cyber operations into the heart of their annual war games, signalling a shift from merely talking about digital threats to practising how to fight through them.

Jennifer Schmidt, head of the US embassy’s information and communications technology unit, said specialised training ranges and sophisticated threat-emulation software would be incorporated into next year’s Balikatan drills so troops could rehearse defending networks and critical systems under fire.

She described cyber cooperation as an emerging “central pillar” of the US-Philippines alliance, on a par with maritime and air defence.

The goal was to bake cyber defence into all levels of government and develop “a deeper, more resilient technical partnership” that linked battlefield interoperability with the protection of national infrastructure, Schmidt told the 2025 Pilipinas Conference in Makati City last Thursday.

A service member wears a “Cydex” patch at the US-Philippines Cyber Defence Exercise on May 7 during Balikatan 2025. Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Public Affairs Office

Manila has sought to improve its cyber capabilities in recent years with the creation of the Philippine military’s “cyber command” and its National Cybersecurity Plan 2023–2028. But though these and other reforms signal political will, analysts say a steep learning curve remains.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x