Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. met with Australian Army chief Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart after the latter paid a courtesy visit in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Monday, Sept. 18, to discuss the strengthening of the military cooperation between the two countries.

Brawner and Simon talked about future plans for both the Philippine Army and Australian Army which include the conduct of trainings, student exchanges, reservist development, non-commissioned officer empowerment, and recruitment process.

“We are very thankful for the support we are getting from Australia. Not just intelligence and technical support, but also more now in terms of training and exercises,” Brawner said.

Just last month, military forces from the AFP and Australian Defence Force (ADF) kicked off the first ever iteration of Exercise Alon, a bilateral amphibious training activity, which aimed to preserve and enhance regional security in the Indo-Pacific.

Filipino and Australian armies also train annually through Exercise Kasangga, the latest iteration of which took place in June which covered urban warfare drills.

Brawner recalled how such trainings helped raise the capabilities of the Filipino soldiers, which was evident in the victory over terrorists during the siege in Marawi City in 2017.

During the Marawi siege, the Australian military provided intelligence support and advisory role to the AFP which led to the triumph of the government’ forces’ against the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)-led terrorists who attempted to take control of the Islamic City.

He said the assistance provided by Australia that time was covered by an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Combat International Terrorism between the two countries.

The Philippines and Australia also currently have a partnership on training and exchanges signed in 1995, and a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) signed in 2007 which provides a comprehensive legal framework for the presence of one country’s forces in the other.