Bilateral cooperation and training between the Philippine and United States militaries have further strengthened following a meeting in Hawaii by top security officials who have agreed to increase the number of exercises and engagements next year.
The increased cooperation and engagements were reached during the recently concluded Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) held at Camp H. M. Smith in Hawaii where top Philippine military and police officials met with US military officials.
During the meeting, Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. and Gen. Charles A. Flynn, commander of the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC), also held bilateral talks aimed at sustaining activities of both armies.
Brawner is part of the Philippine delegation that included other military officials, Philippine National Police Chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. and Philippine Coast Guard Admiral Artemio Manalo Abu during the MDB-SEB.
Admiral John Aquilino, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, led the US delegation, during the meeting that finalized the planning for next year’s bilateral exercises and other security engagements between the two countries.
A statement from Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad said that the Philippine and US militaries agreed to more than 500 activities in 2023.
The MDB-SEB meetings held annually seek to ensure partnership and cooperation between the two counties in support of the Mutual Defense Treaty through exercises, training and capability-building.
The MDB was established in 1958 while the SEB was established in 2006.
Meanwhile, Trinidad said the Army and USARPAC also capped the second phase of the Logistics Subject Matter Expert Exchange (LOGSMEE) hosted by USARPAC’s 8th Theater Sustainment Command (8TSC) at Fort Shafter, Oahu, Hawaii.
Col. Jonjie Juguilon, Army Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Logistics, and Col. Tracy Lanier, USARPAC’s 8TSC Deputy Commander, led the four-day activity.
Trinidad said the LOGSMEE is alternately hosted by the Philippines and the US and it is aimed at enhancing interoperability of both armies in logistics operations.
It also provides a platform for sharing best practices on logistics operations in support of combined arms operations and sustaining strong relations between the Army and USARPAC logisticians.