AN anti-ship missile system of the United States Marine Corps will be featured in another military exercise between American and Filipino troops, called “Kamandag,” which opened yesterday.
China has opposed the deployment of the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) and of the US Typhon missile system which has been in the country since last year. China has repeatedly demanded the return of the Typhon to the US due to what it said are threats it poses to regional security.
This year’s Kamandag involves about 4,000 troops or 2,000 personnel from each side. It was formally opened at the headquarters of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.
“We’ll be using the NMESIS,” PMC commandant Maj. Gen. Arturo Rojas during the opening of the exercise which will see active participation from Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
The NMESIS platform arrived in the country on April 14 in time for the “Balikatan,” a huge-scale military exercise also between US and Philippine troops. This year’s Balikatan was held from April 21 to May 9.
Rojas said PMC personnel are eager to learn how to operate the NMESIS, the same way other Filipino troops learned from the US platform during the Balikatan exercise.
Col. Jason Armas, commander of the US Marine Rotational Force-Darwin 25.3, said NMESIS will be used in “scenario-driven exercises” that will be pursued under Kamandag.
Armas described the NMESIS platform as a “great capability,” adding this “extends the commander’s operational reach.”
“And I would argue that it surely enhances the archipelagic coastal defense concept for the Philippine Armed Forces and really moving forward in modernization,” he said.
Rojas said the Typhon missile system will not be featured in the Kamandag exercise.
On whether the BrahMos cruise missile system of the PMC will see action in the Kamandag exercise, Rojas said, “It will not be. The new missile system of the Philippine Marine Corps will not be utilized in this exercise.”
“But the personnel (involved in handling the BrahMos) will be joining during the virtual planning and preparation events (of the Kamandag exercise),” added Rojas.
Several training activities have been lined up for Kamandag, including a maritime strike and counter-landing in Burgos, Ilocos Norte and a live-fire drill in Capas, Tarlac.
Armas said another highlight of the Kamandag is subject matter expert exchanges.
“We have the opportunity … to work not just together, they’re teaching each other the whole time, and then when that’s done, they get this opportunity to actually spend time together, because it’s about relationship building and it’s about enabling trust,” said Armas.
