US Marines Philippine Marines Canadian Forces Conduct Counter-Landing Live Fire at Balikatan 2026
Canadian Armed Forces Pte. Jack Glazer fed rounds into an M240G/B medium machine gun during a counter-landing live-fire training event at Paoay Sand Dunes, Philippines, on May 4, 2026. The drill forms part of the annual Balikatan exercise and signals continued operational integration among the three militaries in the Indo-Pacific.
upi.comPaoay Sand Dunes, Philippines — Canadian Armed Forces Pte. Jack Glazer, an infantryman assigned to 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, fed rounds into an M240G/B medium machine gun during a counter-landing live-fire training event as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026 on May 4, 2026.
The exercise included U.S. Marines, Philippine Marines and Canadian Armed Forces personnel. Balikatan represents the longstanding annual training series between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military. The addition of Canadian forces this year expands the participating nations conducting combined live-fire drills focused on counter-landing operations.
The drill shifts the exercise from prior years' bilateral U.S.-Philippine format to a trilateral format that incorporates Canadian infantry units in live-fire sequences. The May 4 event marks the first documented integration of Canadian M240G/B machine-gun teams into the counter-landing phase at Paoay Sand Dunes. No specific troop numbers or dollar values for the 2026 iteration were released.
The integration requires each participating force to align ammunition, communication protocols and maneuver tactics in real time. Philippine and U.S. commands must now incorporate Canadian infantry fire-support elements into future operational planning cycles for the remainder of the exercise.
The trilateral drills trigger follow-on staff talks between the three defense establishments to assess interoperability data collected from the live-fire sequences.
This marks the second consecutive year that Balikatan has expanded beyond its core U.S.-Philippine framework. Canadian participation follows the 2025 iteration that first tested multilateral command-and-control nodes. The Department of Defense has described Balikatan as the annual exercise that improves combined-force capability and demonstrates commitment to regional peace and prosperity.
Primary sources: U.S. Department of Defense · CENTCOM
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