THE Philippines and US Pacific armies yesterday commenced a military exercise designed to improve the interoperability of the two sides on territorial defense operations.
Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala said the “Salaknib” exercise involves around 3,000 Filipino troops and 2,000 personnel from the US Army Pacific.
The exercise, which will be held in various training sites in northern and central Luzon, formally opened during rites at the Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, led by Army vice commander Maj. Gen. Leodevic Guinid.
“The exercise, designed as a continuous operation, focuses on enhancing combined/joint all-domain operations, reinforcing warfighting capabilities, and showcasing a strong bilateral commitment to safeguarding the Philippines’ territorial integrity,” Dema-ala said in a statement.
He said the exercise is aimed at “strengthening defense readiness” and at the same time “provide critical training in humanitarian civil assistance, information operations, counter-intelligence, and protection.”
“Further, the exercise will tackle capability enhancement on operational command and control, combined arms force-on-force, large-scale operational maneuvers, combined arms live fire exercise, and sustainment operations in support of external security operations,” he added.
Dema-ala said Salaknib will be held in two phases. The first will be conducted from March 24 to 11 April 2025, while the second phase will be held from May 19 to July 20.
Dema-ala said military exercises like Salaknib “further solidifies (the Army’s) readiness to respond to evolving threats and upholds its vital role in the nation’s land defense as part of the AFP’s broader mission in external security operations.”
“The Philippine Army continues to develop and enhance its capabilities in partnership with its allies,” he said.
This year’s Salaknib is larger in terms of participating troops. Last year’s exercise involved some 1,800 Filipino and 1,700 US troops.
The first phase of the Salaknib exercise will precede the opening of the Balikatan exercise, another huge-scale exercise between the armed forces of the two countries, which is scheduled to be launched next month.
Navy chief Vice Admiral Jose Ma Ambrosio Ezpeleta earlier said three missile systems of the Navy will take part in the maritime strike component of the Balikatan exercise.
