The U.S. Marine Corps wrapped up exercise Resolute Dragon 23 with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force on Oct. 31. They began Exercise Kamandag Thursday in the Philippines to improve joint command and control and multi-domain maneuver capabilities. The annual bilateral exercises have been running since Oct. 14 and have involved 19 locations across the country. The Yomiuri newspaper reported that this year’s RD23 focused on small mobile contingents that can slip within range of enemy missiles to seize islands and control surrounding seas, as well as simulated combat against warships and aircraft. Historic events this year included the first-ever bilateral airfield damage repair and a rocket live-fire with JGSDF troops at Yausubetsu Maneuver Area in Hokkaido, along with a simulated mass casualty evacuation drill utilizing CH-47 Chinook and V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Marines also participated in a new simulated assault on a Japanese island near Taiwan that involved moving through dense vegetation with a sandbag barricade.
The field training portion of the exercise kicked off Oct. 14. It will see US and JSDF forces train in multiple locations over the next two weeks, focusing on the development of command and control, interoperability, and joint maneuver capabilities in a multi-domain environment. Forces will also conduct integrated live-fire exercises using the JSDF’s Multiple Launch Rocket System and the Marine Corps’ High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.
During the Philippine part of the exercise, known as KAMANDAG (Kaagapay Ng Mga Mandirigma Ng Dagat), around 950 Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel and 850 US Marines will participate. They will take part in staff integration events, humanitarian assistance and disaster response training, amphibious operations, coastal defense, inshore search and rescue, and amphibious landing training; subject matter expert exchanges on chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and nuclear training; and medical subject matter expert exchanges.
The two military alliances aim to build readiness in the face of growing regional threats, primarily from China’s maritime assertiveness. A Marine Corps spokesperson said that joint exercises are essential to maintaining the US-Japan alliance and bolstering the free and open Indo-Pacific. The armed forces of the Philippines and the United States share common values of mutual respect, democracy, and rule of law and will continue to work closely together, the statement read. It added that the exercise was not designed to prepare for a specific conflict in the West Philippine Sea or any other region. The Marine Corps expects to hold a similar joint exercise in the Philippines next year. The Corps plans to redesignate its 12th Marine Regiment as the Maritime Counterinsurgency Unit, or MCU, in 2022, tasked with deploying ashore to protect remote islands from potential Chinese aggression. This will help it develop the skills to support its “seek, respond, and win” mission in any contingency. The unit will be based in Okinawa. The Marine Corps will then move it to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to be renamed the 12th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, or 1st MEG.
