ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Army, Marine chiefs of PH, Japan, US meet in 'historic' summit

Army, Marine chiefs of PH, Japan, US meet in 'historic' summit

Published Dec 13, 2022 03:45 pm

Top officials of the Philippine Army (PA) and Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) have established deeper relations with their counterparts from Japan and the United States in a “historic” summit that sought to address various security issues in the Indo-Pacific region.

Heads of land forces from Japan, Philippines and United States hold their first-ever trilateral meeting in Tokyo, Japan on Dec. 11, 2022 to address various security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. Attendees were (L-R) US Marine Forces Pacific Commander, Lt. Gen. William Jurney; US Army Pacific Commanding General, Gen. Charles Flynn; Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Chief of Staff, Gen. Yoshida Yoshihide; Philippine Army Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.; and Philippine Marine Corps Commandant, Maj. Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan. (Photo by Philippine Army / PA)

Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., PA commanding general; and Maj. Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan, PMC commandant; represented the Philippine delegation to the first-ever Japan-Philippines-US Trilateral Key Leaders’ Engagement held at Camp Asaka in Tokyo last Sunday, Dec. 11.

The top-level meeting was hosted by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) led by its Chief of Staff, Gen. Yoshida Yoshihide.

Meanwhile, the US’ side was represented by Gen. Charles Flynn, commanding general of the US Army Pacific (USARPAC); and Lt. Gen. William Jurney, commander of US Marine Forces Pacific.

“Our armies have strong bilateral engagements with one another so having this trilateral cooperation is truly a great opportunity for us in the Philippine Army to further advance our capabilities,” Brawner said.

Brawner believes that the summit has set the stage for the regularization of high-level talks among ground forces from Manila, Tokyo, and Washington “which also strengthens future multilateral cooperation frameworks.”

The meeting was described by General Flynn as a “collective commitment” of the three countries to protect national sovereignty and maintain a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region.

" grateful to JGSDF Chief, Gen. Yoshida for hosting the historic firat Japan - Philippines - US Land Forces Summit with Philippine Army Chief Lt. Gen. Brawner, USARPAC, and US Pacific Marines. We are united in our collective commitment to protecting national sovereignty and a Free and Open Indo-Pacific," Flynn said in a tweet.

The term “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” refers to a strategy of countries with similar interests in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea where China is perceived to be tightening its grip.

Meanwhile, the JGSDF said the generals had a “lively exchange of views” on the recognition of the strategic environment and defense cooperation among Japan, Philippines, and US.

“At the summit, they vigorously exchanged their opinions concerning strategic assessment and the way ahead of defense cooperation, and agreed to promote initiatives among ground forces the three nations to maintain and enhance the ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific,’” the JGSDF said in a statement.

Related Tags

12132022 trilateral summit United States army Philippines marines Japan
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.