Japan troops, armor back Ph, US forces in Luzon exercise

October 10, 2018

Unarmed Japanese troops and assault vehicles stripped of weapons provided support for Philippine and US forces in an amphibious exercise targetting terrorists in a beach fronting the West Philippine Sea. It was the first time that Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Forces (GDSF) deployed armored vehicles on foreign soil since the end of World War Two. The Japanese contingent provided support for the assaulting troops involved in the exercise by evacuating ‘casualties.’
Kamandag 2 (Venom) is a bilateral exercise between Philippine and US Marines. It was the first time that Japan was invited to participate in the war games. Japan has also sent observers to the bigger Balikatan (Shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises between the Philippine and US armed forces.