US soldiers in the joint exercises in Casiguran, Aurora on May 15 (Source: VNA)Manila (VNA) - Philippine and US soldiers on October 2 launched a joint anti-terrorismexercise codenamed KAMANDAG at multiple locations on the Philippine main islandof Luzon.
TheUS Embassy in Manila said in a statement that the joint exercise will run untilOctober 11. Its goal is to increase counter-terrorism capabilities throughbilateral military exchanges between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)and the US forces.
Theactivities focused on enhancing counter-terrorism capabilities, humanitarianassistance and disaster response.
Around900 US soldiers are joining the exercise, which takes place at numerouslocations on Luzon island, including the US’s Clark base.
Washingtonand Manila have long been conducting joint military activities to bolster thecombat readiness of the AFP and to maintain the interoperability of the AFP andthe US military forces.
Lastweek, PhilippinePresident Rodrigo Duterte thanked the US government for helping Manila in thefight against pro-Islamic State (IS) militants in the southern city ofMarawi.
The US deployed a P-3 Orion spy plane andprovided other intelligence inputs for the Philippine forces trying to retakethe city in the clash, which has left more than 900 people dead since May.-VNA
VNA
