The US and Philippines armed forces on Monday kicked off joint naval exercise named KAMANDAG (Kaagapay Ng Mga Mandirigma ng Dagat), an acronym in Filipino for “Cooperation of the warriors of the sea”. The exercise will run till October 14 and will see the participation of 2,550 American and 530 Filipino troops.
According to reports, alongside the two countries, Japan and South Korea will be joining the exercise as observers. The exercise held in select areas throughout Luzon will involve island-based armed operations and drills in amphibious landings, live fire and humanitarian assistance.
“The exercise aims to enhance bilateral cooperation and interoperability among participating forces in the conduct of combined tactical operations that focus on capacitating the Marine Amphibious Ready Unit and enhancing their capabilities in Special Operations, Coastal Defense Capability, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) Operations, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Operations,” the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) said in a statement.
Speaking at the kickoff ceremony of the sixth iteration of the exercise, Philippine Navy Acting Flag Officer in Command Rear Admiral Caesar Bernard Valencia stated it would be bigger than the previous year’s event.
“The last exercise was not really conducted the way we want it to be [because of the COVID-19 pandemic]. This is a bigger exercise compared to what we did last year. There are a lot of marine corps participating this year. Last year was just virtual and tabletop exercises.”
As reported by WION, earlier this year, the two countries held their biggest military exercise in seven years called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder. The exercise ran from March 29 to April 8 with nearly 9,000 navy, marines, air force and army troops, including 5,100 American military personnel participating in it.
WATCH | Philippines, US to begin two-week joint military drill from Monday
The US and the Philippines have a mutual defence treaty, signed way back in 1951. Under the treaty, both nations have sworn to defend each other in case of an attack by a third party.
(With inputs from agencies)
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