The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) condemned the conduct of Operation Lightning Strike, Filipino and American soldiers’ war games under Salaknib Phase 2 in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija. The war games fired two High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and used four Apache attack helicopters.

According to KMP, the continued presence of American troops and the series of war games in Luzon prove the US’ deepening intervention in the Philippines’ internal military affairs. In fact, the joint war games of US, Australian, and Philippine troops have just concluded.

The Kamandag war games (May 26-June 6) and Kasangga war games (May 19-June 24) were recently launched while Salaknib 2025 Phase 2, which began on May 19, is still ongoing. Thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of Australian troops are in Philippine territory for these activities.

From April to May, the US and the Philippines launched Balikatan 40-25. No less than 17,000 American and Filipino troops participated in the war games, along with hundreds of Japanese and Australian soldiers. At the Marcos regime’s invitation, representatives and military officials from 16 other countries served as observers in the war games.

“These war games are detrimental for farming communities, especially the live-fire missile tests. These are not for genuine defense or peace, but are part of US preparations for war,” KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos said. These practices turn provinces like Nueva Ecija, which is the country’s main source of rice, into testing grounds and forward bases, he added.

The group said that the Marcos regime is wasting billions of pesos on these destructive war games while Filipinos sink deeper into the rice crisis, soaring prices of goods and fuel, and the absence of genuine land reform.

KMP also condemned the Marcos regime for allowing the US to use the Philippines as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” amid its intensifying rivalry with imperialist China. According to the farmers’ group, this further increases tensions in the region, particularly in the West Philippine Sea.

“Our country is being turned into a military base and the lives of ordinary people are being endangered,” Ramos added.

KMP called on Nueva Ecija local officials and residents to condemn Operation Lightning Strike and demand the expulsion of foreign troops from their communities.

“The country’s genuine protection is rooted in sovereignty, peace, and development based on the people’s livelihood, not on foreign arms and war games,” Ramos concluded.