Forces from Australia and Japan will also participate in the forthcoming joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States. The 34th Balikatan exercises between Filipino and US troops will be conducted at multiple locations in Luzon in May. There will be no more live-fire exercises this year as the joint military exercises will focus on humanitarian and civil assistance. In September 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his intent to end the joint military exercises with the US, saying that the war games that year would be the “last one.” Duterte said that the military exercises with Washington were something that Beijing “does not want” as he was then seeking new trade and commercial alliances with China.