Department of National Defense (DND) Officer in Charge Jose Faustino Jr. is expected to meet with his counterpart from the United States today (Friday) where discussions on bilateral defense and security cooperation are expected to take center stage.
Faustino will meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III at the US Pacific Command in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is the second time that both leaders will talk following Austin’s phone call to his Filipino counterpart on September 1.
“The two officials are expected to discuss operational cooperation in addressing emerging security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region,” the DND said in a news statement.
During their conversation earlier this month, Austin and Faustino reaffirmed their countries’ commitments to the Mutual Defense Treaty, with the US defense chief reiterating America’s “iron clad” support to the Philippines.
Austin also commended Faustino for his support in advancing the bilateral defense cooperation between two countries and for spearheading the return of regular military exercises and in laying the groundwork for maritime security cooperation.
Faustino’s presence in Hawaii was upon the invitation of Austin.
Capability enhancement
Meanwhile, the Philippine Army, Philippine Marine Corps and the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) have begun their staff talks in Tokyo, Japan, with the aim of developing annual and medium-term activities among the three forces that will enhance their capabilities.
Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans Colonel Benjamin Leander, Marine Chief of Staff Colonel Larry Batalla and Colonel Oku Kazumasa of the JGSDF led the staff talks in Tokyo.
Earlier, Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. and Marine Acting Commandant Brig. Gen. Raul Jesus Caldez signed a trilateral terms of reference (TOR) with JGSDF Chief of Staff Gen. Yoshida Yoshihide during the 6th iteration of the PA-PMC-JGSDF “Strategic Guidance on Cooperation” on July 27, 2022.
The updated TOR laid the groundwork for engagements among the Army, Marines and JGSDF, including Japan’s Marine Unit.
Relatedly, the Marines will officially start on Monday the 6th iteration of the exercise “Kamandag” with the United States Armed Forces, 31st and 11th Marine Expeditionary Units.
According to Marines spokesman Major Emery Torre, the exercise will be held in areas of Luzon until October 14.
He said the Philippine Marines and the US Marine Corps would be joined by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and the Republic of Korea Marine Corps for the first time as exercise observers.
“The Philippine Marine Corps looks forward to this year’s Kamandag Exercise with our foreign military allies who are advanced in terms of amphibious operations, special operations, HADR [Humanitarian and Disaster Relief] operations, and territorial defense capabilities,” Emery quoted Marine Commandant Major Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan as saying.
“Through this exercise, we are able to learn from their techniques, tactics, and procedures to develop our interoperability strategy in the Philippine Marine Corps, especially as we operationalize our Marine Corps Operating Concept for Archipelagic Coastal Defense,” Gaerlan added.
At the general headquarters, Acting Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Rommel Anthony SD Reyes met with Roger Noble, Australian Ambassador for Counter Terrorism following the latter’s courtesy call.
During their meeting, the two leaders discussed cooperation in terms of best practice sharing, intelligence exchange and counter-terrorism training to prepare for future challenges, including the resurgence of threats with the normalization of foreign travel.
“The vice chief of staff also emphasized that it is essential to identify groups that fund these terrorists which the international community play a vital role,” said military public affairs office chief Col. Jorry Baclor.