By Robina Asido

The Philippine Army invited its Japanese counterpart to join future Salaknib exercises with the United States.

Col. Louie Dema-ala, Philippine Army spokesman, said Gen. Yasunori Morishita, chief of staff, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), paid a courtesy call to Army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido at Fort Bonifacio on Monday.

Dema-ala said during the call, "Gen. Morishita and Lt. Gen. Galido discussed the ways ahead of the bilateral and multilateral defense cooperation such as the conduct of the Chief of Army Symposium in Australia and the Land Forces Summit in Japan."

"Moreover, future joint exercises including Exercise Balikatan (Ex-BK), Exercise Salaknib (Ex-SN), and Exercise Yama Sakura (Ex-YS) were also tackled," he said.

Dema-ala said that the Philippine Army is inviting the JGSDF to join annual bilateral exercises between the Philippine and United States armies once the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and Japan has ratified.

"We are inviting them... General Morishita said they are open to Salaknib. They are open and it depends on the RAA," he said.

Dema-ala said after the courtesy call an informal discussion among JGSDF staff and PA working group was also conducted.

"Topic was about the way ahead of the engagement with the possible ratification of the RAA. Without the ratified RAA, we cannot ascertain specific activities to be conducted in the future bilateral exercises," he said.

Dema-ala explained that while the RAA is not yet ratified, the JGSDF can observe next year's Salaknib exercises.

The Salaknib exercises where the controversial Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system of the United States Army is being used for familiarity and training is set to culminate within the month. DMS