[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence photo] What is the Kamandak Training Involving the Marine Corps?

[The Asia Business Daily, Military Correspondent Yang Nakgyu] The "2022 Kamandag Exercise" was held from October 3 to October 13, 2022, in the northern Luzon region near the South China Sea, an area subject to territorial disputes involving the Philippines. The exercise involved more than 2,500 U.S. Marines and over 600 Philippine Marines, with 120 South Korean Marines and 30 Japanese Marines participating as observers, totaling approximately 3,300 personnel from four countries.

This was the first exercise conducted since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office. "Kamandag" means "cooperation of maritime warriors" in Tagalog, the local language of the Philippines. Notably, a large number of advanced weapons, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and supersonic fighter jets, were deployed during the exercise.

Because the training area is near the South China Sea, where the Philippines and China are engaged in territorial disputes, analysts interpret this as a strategic move to keep China in check. In addition, according to U.S. Marine Corps officials, around 3,000 U.S. and Japanese troops are conducting military exercises near Hokkaido, in northern Japan, during the same period.

The Philippines and the United States have also agreed to double the scale of another joint military exercise, the "Balikatan Exercise," from this year's 8,900 participants to 16,000 next year. Recently, the Philippine ambassador to the United States stated that the Philippines could allow U.S. forces to use Philippine military bases in the event of a Taiwan contingency.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.