In Zambales, ‘Balikatan’ drills cut short; ‘no sail’ policy lifted

UNAWARE Fishers at Barangay San Miguel in San Antonio, Zambales, stay off the sea on Tuesday as they are unaware that the sailing ban, imposed since May 5 to make way for joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States in their waters, has been lifted. —JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT

SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES—The “no sail zone” imposed in waters off the coastal towns of Zambales was lifted earlier than expected after the target vessel for the sinking exercise under the ongoing Philippine-United States “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) military drills sank prematurely due to rough seas.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Commander Euphraim Jayson Diciano, head of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Zambales, confirmed the lifting of the ban, noting that several key Balikatan exercises had already concluded.

“There are still limited live-fire drills ongoing until 1 p.m. [on Tuesday], about 100 meters from the shoreline of the Naval Education, Training and Doctrine Command (NETDC) in San Antonio,” Diciano said.

Livelihood disruption

According to Diciano, there is still a small area along the NETDC that will be off-limits to civilian vessels. “Navy and Marine patrol vessels are on standby to secure the area and keep civilian boats away,” he said.

The temporary sailing ban has disrupted the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen and tourism-reliant residents in the towns of San Antonio, San Narciso, San Felipe, Cabangan, Botolan and Subic. It was first enforced from April 25 to April 27 to accommodate an Integrated Air and Missile Defense activity—one of the components of this year’s Balikatan exercises between Filipino and American troops.

A second round of restrictions was imposed on May 5 for the event’s centerpiece maritime strike exercise off the coast of San Antonio on the same day.

However, the scheduled drill was cut short after the target— the decommissioned World War II-era corvette BRP Miguel Malvar—sank on its own on Monday, roughly 56 kilometers (30 nautical miles) west of San Antonio due to heavy swells.

Balikatan 2025, which began on April 21 and is scheduled to conclude on Friday, is the largest annual joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines. It routinely impacts coastal communities in Zambales and Cagayan provinces, where key components of the exercise are held.