What is "balikatan"

Balikatan is the name for the annual military exercises between the Philippines and the United States. It is a Tagalog word meaning "shoulder-to-shoulder". The April 2016 10-day exercises is the 32nd iteration of the Balikatan exercises. The exercises have been the cornerstone of Philippines–United States military relations since the U.S. bases in the Philippines closed.

In 2014, Australian armed forces participated in Balikatan exercises and will do so again in 2015. Australia has a visiting forces agreement, a type of a status of forces agreement, with the Philippines called Philippines–Australia Status of Visiting Forces Agreement. The Philippines is open to other countries participating provided that they too have a similar forces agreement.