South Korea has participated in the annual KAMANDAG exercise in the Philippines since 2022, sending a company-sized contingent each year at the invitation of the Philippine and U.S. Marine Corps. This year’s edition — KAMANDAG 10, a name derived from the Filipino phrase “Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma ng Dagat,” meaning “Cooperation of Warriors of the Sea” — began June 14 on the island of Luzon and runs through Wednesday.
The participating countries are South Korea, the United States, the Philippines and Japan, according to the Marine Corps. Canada, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Thailand and Bahrain sent observers.
The South Korean Marine Corps organized its contingent into a rifle company, a reconnaissance team, a sniper section and a technical exchange team, the Marine Corps said Tuesday. The rifle company conducted marksmanship and amphibious operations training alongside forces from the other participating countries. The reconnaissance team focused on jungle and maritime reconnaissance, jungle survival skills and seaborne infiltration using inflatable boats.
South Korean Marines conducted live-fire training with a 12.7 mm anti-materiel rifle for the first time during the KAMANDAG exercise, according to the Marine Corps, improving the unit’s ability to carry out precision strikes in multinational operations.
The contingent formed a combined command post with the participating forces and conducted staff exercises to strengthen command-and-control procedures and interoperability, the Marine Corps said.
Maintenance specialists from the South Korean contingent shared operating and maintenance expertise for Korean Amphibious Assault Vehicles, or KAAVs, and other military vehicles with the Philippine Marine Corps. The Philippines ordered eight KAAVs from South Korea in 2016 and continues to operate the vehicles. South Korea has provided related training to Philippine personnel since 2022.
Philippine Marine Corps 1st Lt. Mark Joel L. Bucayu said the training allowed forces to exchange tactics in jungle terrain and across a variety of missions.
“We were able to exchange tactics with the South Korean Marines in jungle terrain and other environments while completing a variety of training missions,” Bucayu said. “I hope the relationship between our two Marine Corps continues to grow, just as we trained together with one purpose.”
Maj. Jeon Yun-ki, commander of the South Korean training contingent, said the exercise prepared the unit for operations in diverse conditions.
“KAMANDAG gave us the capability and readiness to complete our missions in any environment, at home or abroad,” Jeon said. “We will do our utmost to fulfill the Marine Corps’ mission with pride in representing South Korea.”
The South Korean Marine Corps also plans to participate this year in a combined-arms exercise in the United States, as well as Super Garuda Shield in Indonesia and Khaan Quest in Mongolia, according to the Marine Corps.