By MARTIN A. SADONGDONG
General Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the joint United States military chiefs, is in the country to meet with his Filipino counterpart, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr.
Brown, a US Air Force general, is scheduled to hold a courtesy call on Brawner at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Tuesday, July 16, according to AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla.
“We were told that the call will happen today but as to the specifics, it’s not divulged. It just shows the solid commitment of the United States in this alliance,” Padilla said in a press conference at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
In a news release by the US Department of Defense (DOD), it said that Brown “will participate in a series of engagements” alongside Brawner and other AFP officials “amid recent strides in the long-standing U.S.-Filipino defense relationship.”
This includes a visit at one of the nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites established in the Philippines. The nine sites under the agreement are designed to strengthen combined training, exercises, and interoperability between the two countries.
Part of the agenda of Brown and Brawner’s meeting, according to Padilla, could be the inclusion of other “like-minded” nations in the annual “Balikatan” military exercise between treaty allies Philippines and US.
“Balikatan Exercises is on the works because it’s gonna be… if it’s one of the biggest this year, it’s gonna be bigger next year,” Padilla said.
There was a strong clamor to include servicemen from the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) in active drills of the most recent Balikatan. The 39th iteration of the exercise was held from April 22 to May 10, which involved around 16,770 Filipino and American troops.
Read: No active participants for Japan in ‘Balikatan’ but observers are coming
The AFP invited Japan as early as last year during the mid and final planning conference to join the active drills of the Balikatan 2024 but it was already too late for them at that point of the planning process so Tokyo just opted to send observers, according to Balikatan planners.
Recently, the Philippines and Japan signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), raising hopes that Japan could start conducting bilateral or multilateral military exercises with the AFP.
“As early as immediately after Balikatan [2024], we are already on the works, planning. So I guess this will have more details and Balikatan will push forward to involve other active members from other like-minded nations as well,” Padilla said.
Another potential point of discussion during Brown and Brawner’s meeting could be the planned General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between the Philippines and US, and a 2+2 meeting later this year.
The GSOMIA is a bilateral military treaty for exchange of military information between the two countries. This is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.
“Suffice to say, it will involve upcoming talks in terms of the GSOMIA, and other matters in terms of our partnership with the United States,” Padilla said when pressed about the possible points of discussion by Brown and Brawner.
“In coming weeks, we also have a 2+2 meeting that’s gonna happen with the AFP and US,” she added.