The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) strengthened its security ties with the United States and Japan as their naval and air assets converged in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) for a two-day Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA), a ranking official disclosed Sunday, Nov. 16. The AFP...
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. pressed for deeper and more coordinated regional defense cooperation in a series of high-level meetings with his United State, Singaporean, and Timor Leste counterparts on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian...
Filipino and American marines demonstrated their growing interoperability and maritime defense capabilities through a joint maritime strike event exercise held on Friday, Oct. 17, at the headquarters of the 4th Marine “Makusug” Brigade (4MBDE) in Burgos, Ilocos Norte. The activity formed part...
The October 22 collision involving Philippine and Chinese vessels in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal will not trigger the Philippines-United States' Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) just yet. AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. had this to say on Tuesday, Oct. 24., amid an escalating tension between...
The Philippine government will still study if its Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States could be invoked after China made dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels that led to a collision in the West Philippine Sea. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Spokesperson Ma. Teresita...
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday, August 7, it is not yet time for the Philippines to say if the recent water cannon attack perpetrated by China against Philippine personnel already warrants the invocation of Washington's Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with Manila. "I think it's a...
The laser-pointing incident in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is not a basis to invoke the mutual defense treaty (MDT) between Manila and Washington. The US flag, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Unsplash, MANILA BULLETIN) In fact, doing so could be downright ill-advised, according to the...
There is no need for the Philippines and the US to come up with new military agreements on top of the existing Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). This is what officials of both countries believed in as the Philippines and the US concluded the two-day...
The country's Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States (US) is continuously under negotiation and evolution to see what would be the best for the Philippines' defense. President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (Ali Vicoy) President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. gave this...
United States Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday vowed to honor the US commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the Philippines, which would defend the country from any armed attack on its assets in the South China Sea. Harris’ pronouncement came at the height of President Marcos’...
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Saturda night, Feb. 26, said passage by Congress of his bill establishing Philippine maritime zones would define the internal waters, the archipelagic waters, the territorial waters, and economic zones of the country. Vice presidential candidate Senator Vicente...
