Manila, Oct. 14 -- Philippine Army (PA) troops and their Australian counterparts are conducting training exercises as part of efforts to beef up their interoperability and enhance their territorial defense capabilities.

In a statement on Tuesday, PA spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said the month-long Philippine-Australia Army-to-Army Exercise "Kasangga" 2025-02 formally began at Camp Jamindan in Capiz on Monday.

"A total of 171 PA soldiers from the 3rd Infantry 'Spearhead' Division and 90 Australian Army troops are participating in the exercise that bolsters (the) interoperability of both armies," Dema-ala said.

During the first day of the exercise, the participating troops trained together on mortar gunnery, combat stress debriefing ...