Japan army debuts in Exercise ‘Salaknib’
For the first time since World War II, Japanese troops again opened fire at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac, where about 70,000 Filipino and American servicemen were detained after the 100-kilometer Death March from Bataan in April 1942.
But 84 years later, more than 200 Filipino troops were cordial with about 40 Japanese servicemen from the 12th Brigade Recon Combat Battalion of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) in their first combined live-fire exercise at a firing range at Rabina Air Base, also known as Crow Valley.
Instead of trucks with 75mm field guns prevalent in the Pacific War in 1942, Japanese troops are now attending to unmanned aerial vehicles or drones and cruise missiles.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines did not exactly say what equipment the visiting Japanese troops brought to Exercise “Salaknib,” a multilateral military exercise of the Philippines, United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, but supposedly included Type 88 missiles.
Type 88 missiles (SSM-1) are truck-mounted, land-based antiship cruise missile that entered JGSDF service in 1988.
The Philippine Army (PA), on the other hand, continued to train on European-made Sabrah tanks, Autonomous Truck-Mounted Howitzer System and 155mm self-propelled artillery. The Philippines recently held live-fire demonstrations of its new High Mobility Artillery Rocket System in Laur, Nueva Ecija.
In a statement, PA spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said the live-fire exercise at Rabina Air Base was part of the Exercise Salaknib (shield in Ilocano) with the US Army Pacific.
“The live-fire exercise followed a tactical scenario that included locating the enemy, fixing their positions and ultimately destroying the target,” Dema-ala said.
Multilateral expansion
Participating troops also rehearsed safety protocols, including troubleshooting procedures in case of misfire or weapon malfunction, with corrective actions taken to ensure operational safety and mission continuity.
PA vice commander Maj. Gen. Efren Morados and armor division chief Brig. Gen. Ronel Manalo; JGSDF 12th Brigade deputy brigade commander Col. Yoshifumi Ogura; Presidential Commission on Visiting Forces executive director Undersecretary Antonio Habulan; and US Army Pacific commander Maj. Gen. James Bartholomees witnessed the drills.
The Japanese participation in this year’s Salaknib exercise was the result of the visiting forces pact, called Reciprocal Access Agreement, that was forged between the two nations in 2024 and came into force in 2025.
The annual Exercise Salaknib was specifically meant to enhance military interoperability between the Philippine Army and the US Army and was first conducted in 2016.
Last year, the exercise involved about 5,000 troops and was part of a continuous training series that is part of the broader “Balikatan” exercises. This year, Salaknib involves about 7,000 troops.
This year’s Balikatan, which started April 20, is the largest iteration of the maneuvers and involves 17,000 troops from the US and Philippines, Japan, Canada, Australia, France and New Zealand. —WITH A REPORT FROM PNA
