Lance Cpl. Armando Floreslopez, an infantry rifleman with Marine Rotational Force-Darwin, takes part in a counter-landing, live-fire rehearsal in Palawan, Philippines, April 27, 2025. (Keegan Jones/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Marines and sailors will soon participate in a major land-based exercise in the Philippines alongside forces from the host nation, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 American troops will join 12 days of regional defense training at sites across the Philippines during Kamandag, an annual exercise that begins May 26, Capt. Johnny Fischer, a spokesman for Marine Rotation Force-Darwin, said by text message Monday.
The rotational force recently arrived in Australia’s Northern Territory for a six-month deployment but has already taken part in two other Philippine exercises, including Balikatan, which began April 21 and concludes Friday.
A rifle company of up to 200 Marines from the rotational force joined Marine Exercise 2025 on Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, from March 31 to April 11.
Kamandag — a Tagalog acronym that means “Cooperation of Warriors of the Sea” — will include maritime key terrain security, defensive counter-landing live-fire drills, littoral maneuver and amphibious operations, according to a Sunday news release from the Marine Corps. There will also be humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training.
Troops will also conduct exchanges in logistics, engineering, special operations, unmanned aerial reconnaissance, marksmanship, air defense, medical readiness, and chemical, biological radiological and nuclear training, the release said.
The exercise comes amid rising tensions between the Philippine and Chinese coast guards over disputed territory in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
“Training shoulder to shoulder with our Philippine Marine Corps partners isn’t just about building interoperability – it’s about forging trust in the crucible of shared hardship and preparing together to respond with speed and precision to any crisis, anywhere, anytime,” the rotational force’s commander, Col. Jason Aramas, said in the release.
Interoperability is a term the military often uses to describe the ability of a country’s armed forces to use another country’s training methods and equipment.
Aramas recently observed U.S. Marines training on Palawan, a western Philippine island near contested South China Sea waters.
This year’s Kamandag will take place across multiple locations, including Palawan and the islands of Luzon, Tawi-Tawi and Batanes, near Taiwan, the release said. Units from the I and III Marine Expeditionary Forces, including the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, are also slated to participate.
“This year’s KAMANDAG is a testament to the enduring partnership between the Philippine Marine Corps and the United States Marine Corps,” Maj. Gen. Arturo Rojas, commandant of the Philippine marine corps, said in the release. “By operating jointly in complex environments, we are strengthening our capability to defend the archipelago and contributing to a secure and stable Indo-Pacific.”
