Pangungunahan ngPilipinas ang bilateral military exercises, kasama ang United States ngayong linggo, ayon sa pahayag ng Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) nitong Linggo.

Sinabi ng PMC, sisimulan ng Pilipinas ang kanilang "Kamandag" exercises, kasama ang United States Armed Forces saPhilippine Navy Officers Club sa Taguig City sa Lunes, Oktubre 3.

Ang "Kamandag" (Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma ng Dagat) exercises ay isasagawa sa mga piling lugar sa Luzon hanggang Oktubre 14.

Kasama rin sa pagsasanay ang mga sundalo ng Japan at South Korea. Gayunman, magiging tagamasid lang ang mga ito.

"The exercises aim 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," pahayag ni PMC commandant Maj. Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan.

“The Philippine Marine Corps looks forward to this year’s KAMANDAG Exercise with our foreign military allies who are advanced in terms of amphibious operations, special operations, HADR operations, and territorial defense capabilities. Through this exercise, we are able to learn from their techniques, tactics, and procedures to develop our interoperability strategy in the Philippine Marine Corps, especially as we operationalize our Marine Corps Operating Concept for Archipelagic Coastal Defense," dagdag pa ng opisyal.

Nasa 5,500 na sundalo mula sa US Marine Corps na naka-base sa Okinawa, Japan ang inaasahang sasali sa pagsasanay.

“These exercises will allow our forces to strengthen interoperability and readiness to ensure we are prepared to rapidly respond to crisis throughout the Indo-Pacific," ayon naman kay 3rd Marine Division commander MGen. Jay Bargeron.