At a press conference on February 17, Lieutenant General Galido said the above exercise was part of the Philippines' combined arms training exercise (Catex), designed to test the military's ability to respond to crises caused by "external threats". Mr. Galido did not specifically name the external threat, according to the South China Morning Post .

The exercise, which will run from March 3 to 12, is aimed at implementing the Philippines’ new Archipelagic Comprehensive Defense Concept. This year’s exercise will involve about 6,000 troops and will be the first to take place not only on the northern Philippine island of Luzon but also in central Visayas and southern Mindanao.

Lt. Gen. Galido said the areas were chosen because the deployment of large-scale ground forces such as tanks and artillery in those areas would not disrupt local communities. He said such joint operations were appropriate and necessary under the Philippines’ new Archipelagic Comprehensive Defense Concept.

Asked if the Philippines has decided to propose the Typhon, Galido said the military's current focus is to study the system "because we can acquire a similar platform." Galido added that the continued presence of the Typhon system in the Philippines is for "defensive" purposes.

China has repeatedly demanded that the Philippines remove the Typhon from its territory. The system was transferred to the Philippines by the US in April 2024 for use in joint military exercises. The launcher has remained in the country since then. In December 2024, the Philippines announced plans to acquire its own Typhon system.

Colonel Louie Dema-ala, head of the Philippine military’s public affairs division, told This Week in Asia that one of the artillery pieces to be tested at Catex will be the largest – a 155mm self-propelled howitzer purchased from Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems. The Philippines currently has 12 155mm Truck-Mounted Artillery Systems (ATMOS), which were purchased for $40.8 million four years ago.

There are now growing reports that Manila is diversifying its arms procurement strategy. A Reuters report citing unnamed sources on February 13 said the Philippines will order $200 million worth of Akash medium-range surface-to-air missile systems from India in April. The purchase of the Akash missile system could “provide air defense” to protect the Philippine Navy’s newly acquired Indian-made BrahMos missile systems, according to Max Montero, an Australian-based defense analyst.

Galido denied all of the above information, saying that the Philippines is still in the stage of "identifying systems or platforms that will allow the military to deploy forces" within the country's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dema-ala admitted that the Philippine military is “too small” compared to the Chinese military. This, according to Colonel Dema-ala, is why the Philippines is trying to increase its reserve force, which he said currently has “millions of men.” According to Mr. Dema-ala, the Philippine military also plans to buy a multi-range missile system, but has encountered financial obstacles.