MANILA — About 5,000 Filipino, American, and Japanese soldiers are expected to participate in the first iteration of the “Salaknib” military exercises, tentatively scheduled for April, Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete said.

This will mark the first time troops from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) will join Salaknib since the Reciprocal Access Agreement took effect on September 11, 2025.

The second iteration of Salaknib is planned for June, shortly after the annual Balikatan exercises scheduled from April to May.

“Salaknib is basically a US and (Philippine) bilateral exercise, siguro (maybe) for the coming Salaknib, 300 troops from the JGSDF will take part in these various training. They will join us,” Nafarrete said.

The exercises will cover infantry operations, joint combined arms maneuvers, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), and other capacity-building programs aimed at ensuring interoperability among all participants.

“Because they know that we are always being visited by typhoons and they are very willing to provide the capabilities (in) HADR. (And) we need (more) training exercises on HADR,” Nafarrete added.

Potential venues for the exercises include Northern Luzon, particularly Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.