Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C. Q. Brown landed in the Philippines on Tuesday for the first leg of his trip to the Indo-Pacific to discuss security cooperation with Washington’s oldest best friend in the region.
The meetings with the Chief of Staff of the Philippines, General Romeo Brawner, the Secretary of National Defense, Gilbert Teodoro, and the National Security Advisor, Eduardo M. Año, focused on demanding regional security situations and strengthening the alliance through bilateral cooperation in the field of defense. These discussions also included “assessments of the region’s security environment, adding recent occasions in the vicinity of Second Thomas Shoal,” according to a statement from the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The discussions also identified the importance of maritime domain awareness functions to “counter illegal, coercive and competitive activities”. and deceptive activities. “
While the United States and Philippine militaries have historically had close ties, an assertive China has driven an increase in United States defense commitments and investment in strategic military bases in Manila. This has basically taken shape around the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a security treaty. created in 2014 that allows for the rotational deployment of troops and the structure of United States-funded services at Philippine bases.
Four more sites around the Philippines were included under the agreement in 2023, expanding US access to the Luzon Strait and southwest Palawan. Brown highlighted this progression in his pre-trip comments and in his conversations with his Filipino counterparts. “The sites are designed to combine training, exercises and interoperability between the two countries,” reads a Department of Defense article about the visit.
Brown reportedly visited an EDCA site that remains in the Philippines, though it is not known which of the nine sites he visited.
Earlier this month, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ 2024 Conference on the South China Sea, Under Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner announced that the United States would invest $120 million, more than double what has already been allocated. . Philippine bases to EDCA sites as of this year’s budget request.
Ratner also noted in his speech that this year saw the “first combined unmanned aerial vehicle engagement,” referring to the rotational deployment of U. S. Marine Corps MQ-9A Reapers to Basa Air Base. One of the original five sites in 2014, the main airfield of the Philippine Air Force, won the largest percentage of EDCA funding.
The US budget documents list 4 projects at the EDCA sites of Fort Magsaysay and Camp Melchor Dela Cruz. One of the Fort Magsaysay projects aims to build an intermediate staging for the Army’s Multi-Domain Task Force, a unit tasked with operating HIMARS and land-based Mk. 41 vertical release systems capable of absorbing anti-ship munitions.
Another assignment at Camp Melchor Dela Cruz concerns the structure of a command and fusion center, which aims to “synchronize collaborative activities and efforts by conducting combined training, training and emergency training between the United States and the Philippines,” according to documents. was one of the 4 sites recently announced under the 2023 expansion and is located in Northern Luzon.
Brown said he believes the U. S. -Philippines alliance is gaining momentum and noted that ties are on a “positive trajectory,” echoing sentiments expressed through U. S. commanders who have trained with Philippine forces in exercises.