Sapper Diesel Wenn’s shirt was pasted to his chest.  

Sweat dripped from the ridge of the combat engineer’s nose the moment he stopped digging into the Filipino sand.

Troops from the Philippines, Australia, the United States and New Zealand had only days to fortify the beach before the 'enemy' was expected to attack. 

Armed with HIMARS, sniper rifles and rocket launcher, the Aussie diggers embodied the moniker given to those who shovelled earth in France and Türkiye more than a century ago.  

And like then, during Exercise Balikatan, the Australian element was only a small piece of the picture. 

In the Filipino language Tagalog, 'balikatan' means 'shoulder to shoulder'. To the diggers’ right were the New Zealand defensive pits. Philippine personnel and members of the US Marine Corps covered their left. 

It was Private Luke Taylor’s third trip to the Philippines since joining the 5th/7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (5/7RAR). 

“Balikatan is all about making friends and working together,” Private Taylor said. 

“The people I’ve met are keen to be here and to do their job. 

“All the countries on this exercise are striving for the same goal, which is the safety and security of their nations.”

'If this were for real, we would need to learn to navigate situations with civilians, so it’s useful learning to get along with the locals.'

Australia has been a part of the annual Philippine-US warfighting exercise since 2014. 

This year, a 100-person combat team, led by 5/7RAR and including the 2nd/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, engaged sea and airborne drones with small arms, machine guns and 84mm rocket launchers.

The explosions were a fitting end to days of defensive operations, which included managing rising tides, curious locals and extreme humidity. 

For the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment’s Sapper Wenn, the experience was surreal, yet grounded in reality. 

“We had kids coming up to us during the night while we were standing piquet in our pits,” Sapper Wenn said. 

“If this were for real, we would need to learn to navigate situations with civilians, so it’s useful learning to get along with the locals.” 

Combat Team Jackal second-in-command Captain Sharm Heitmann said the team’s participation in Exercise Balikatan demonstrated the relationship between countries was strong. 

“I don’t think anything represents this more than digging in with our partners, New Zealand, the Philippines and the United States all working together to develop a defensive position,” he said.