Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. expressed hope that more Japanese troops will be able to join the future Kamandag exercises between United States and Philippine marines once the reciprocal access agreement (RAA) with Japan has been signed.

This was mentioned by Brawner in an ambush interview when he witnessed the AFP Joint Exercise Dagat-Langit-Lupa in Burgos, Ilocos Norte on Wednesday.

Aside from the AFP joint exercise, Brawner said that Kamandag exercises with troops from Japan and the United Kingdom were also being held in the area.

"The other exercise that we have here is now the Kamandag exercise between the Philippine Marine Corps and the US Marine Corps that is why you can see the US Marines from the background, we also have the members the Japan Ground Self Defense Force with us, and we also have soldiers coming from the United Kingdom," he said

"It's not just an exercise between the US and the Philippines but we also have other countries who are joining us as observers. Hopefully next year when the RAA with the government of Japan was signed we could have more Japanese soldiers joining us," he added.

Col. Xerxes Trinidad, AFP public affairs chief .said during the AFP joint exercise, Brawner witnessed the firing of the AFP’s newly acquired artillery for the Philippine Army and the Philippine Marine Corps working in tandem with the Philippine Air Force’s AW109 and A-29B Super Tucano aircraft.

"The exercise tests and demonstrates the capability of AFP major services to conduct joint territorial defense operations and highlights the seamless integration of different military units and platforms," he said. Robina Asido/DMS