Philippine and US army soldiers salute as their national anthems are played during the opening ceremony of US-Philippines Arm-to-Army exercise at Fort Magsaysay, in Nueva Ecija province, north of Manila on March 13, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

FORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines - The Philippines and United States launched army-to-army exercises on Monday, with a focus on enhancing the Southeast Asian nation's ability to protect and defend its territory.

The drills come on the heels of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's decision last month to expand the United States' access to his country's military bases.

More than 3,000 Filipino and US soldiers will participate in the three-week long annual exercises called Salaknib

More than 3,000 Filipino and US soldiers will participate in the three-week long annual exercises called Salaknib, which involve multiple small-arms live-fire exercises, artillery and mortar live-fire events, and construction projects.

"Since this is an army-to-army exercise, we will focus on defense operations such as air defense and also our defense from the shorelines," Philippines Army Chief Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner told reporters following the opening ceremony.

The majority of activities will take place at Fort Magsaysay, the Philippines' largest military camp, and one of the five existing sites the United States has access to under its Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with Manila.

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Under the agreement, the United States can use the bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but not to maintain a permanent presence.