Philippine, United States and Japanese forces successfully completed a amphibious landing exercise in Cavite on Saturday.

The exercise that is part of Kamandag 3 was conducted in the beaches of Marine Base Gregorio Lim in Ternate.

Capt. Felix Serapio, Philippine Marines spokesman, said the exercise was witnessed by Brig. Gen. Ariel Caculitan, deputy commandant, Philippine Marine Corps with Maj. Gen. Paula Rock USMC, commanding general, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Maj. Gen. Shinichi Aoki, commanding general, Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade of Japan Ground Self Defense Force.

“The landing is the culmination of the amphibious combined interoperability training between the three amphibious forces, as this further develops the capabilities of our Marines in conducting similar operations,” said Serapio.

“The amphibious capability acquired by the Marines will boost its ability to respond to counter-terrorism scenarios, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief operations and territorial defense,” he added.

Serapio said a total of 12 Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) were used during the exercise.

Four AAV’s of the Philippine Marines were launched from BRP Davao Del Sur while the AAV’s of United States and JGSDF with four vehicles each were launched from USS Germantown.

During the exercise, the US AAV were the first team that landed at the beach to secure the area followed by the Philippine Marines AAV’s and Japanese AAVs with cranes to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) operations.

Serapio said the Philippine Marines focused in transporting goods and soldiers to help people affected in the area while Japanese forces provide support focusing on HADR operation.

Kamandag 3, a Philippine-led military training exercise between the AFP and US Forces and joined by JGSDF members, started last Oct 9. It is expected to last until Oct. 18.

Serapio said exercises like “Kamandag 3 strengthens international partnerships and our forces’ abilities to rapidly respond to crises throughout the Indo-Pacific”. Robina Asido/DMS