The Philippines and the United States have crafted guidelines for their next-phase bilateral defense cooperation as officials of both sides recognized threats that may arise in various operational domains.
This developed as President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his delegation met key Washington officials, including President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, who both reaffirmed the US' commitment to protect the Philippines, particularly against any armed attack.
Photo courtesy of President Marcos' Facebook page
The Bilateral Defense Guidelines were established on May 3 by Austin and his Filipino counterpart, Defense Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. during Marcos' visit to the US capitol. These guidelines recognize that threats may arise in land, sea, air, space and cyberspace, among others, and take the form of asymmetric, hybrid, and irregular warfare and gray-zone tactics.
"The guidelines chart a way forward to build interoperability in both conventional and non-conventional domains," a fact sheet provided by the US Defense Department said.
There are "multiple lines of effort" to pursue under the guidelines that include: modernizing defense capabilities, deepening interoperability, enhancing bilateral planning and information-sharing, combating transnational and non-conventional threats and contributing to global peace and regional peace and security.
Under the guidelines, both sides will "coordinate closely" for the modernization of Philippine defense, through the completion of a Security Sector Assistance Roadmap; prioritize procurement of interoperable defense platforms sourced from US and Philippines programs and funds; and expand investments in non-material defense assets, including through education and training exchanges and exercises.
The Philippines and the US will also improve their combined ability to counter attacks, either armed or through space and cyberspace; expand maritime cooperation that will not only be limited to joint patrols; and deepen cooperation under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) by rotational US troops' access to agreed locations, among other terms.
Both sides are also expected to share information with each other real-time, especially on "early indicators of threats to the peace and security," that will include various agencies; improve the security of critical infrastructure in the face of attacks emanating from state and non-state actors; and pursue capacity-building activities to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear-related attacks and to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Philippines and the US will also sustain their participation in multilateral fora, anchored in shared support for ASEAN centrality; and prioritize trilateral and multilateral defense cooperation.
The Philippine-US strengthened military ties came in the heels of China's aggression in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea. Both sides said the alliance aimed to ensure peace and stability in the region.