Manila, March 25 -- This year's Balikatan exercises between the Philippines, United States and other allies will focus more on cyber defense drills.

In a press briefing late Tuesday afternoon, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said modern conflicts such as the war between Russia and Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East between the United States, Israel and Iran highlight the importance of cyber defense.

He also said the U.S., before conducting any military operation, "often attacks the cyber networks of the forces opposing it as part of its efforts to paralyze and confuse its opponents."

"Because we saw from the lessons in Ukraine and in Iran that one of the first forms of warfare that was done was t...