Stronger Phl defense sought
Faustino met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin IlI for the second time, following the Philippines-US bilateral meeting last September in Hawaii
The Department of National Defense has renewed its commitment to contribute to the enhancement of strategic dialogue and practical defense cooperation with the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
DND officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. said the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting retreat, which was held from 23 to 24 November in Cambodia, should endeavor purposive engagements with joint efforts among countries.
He added that the ASEAN is in a strategic position to call for deepening multilateral engagements that will further advance shared defense and security concerns instead of “creating ramifications on the geopolitical power balance” in the region.
Faustino also attended the ASEAN-United States and ASEAN-India Defense Ministers’ Informal Meetings — where he took many opportunities to deepen the country’s personal and professional friendship with its counterparts from the ASEAN, including its so-called dialogue partners.
At the sidelines, Faustino met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin IlI for the second time, following the Philippines-US bilateral meeting last September in Hawaii.
Faustino and Austin reaffirmed the consideration of the Philippines-US alliance on “a very strong footing” as manifested in the recent bilateral meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US Vice President Kamala Harris in Manila.
Among other topics tackled were several regional security outlooks, and the bilateral initiatives to further deepen the defense partnership between the Philippines and the US.
Faustino likewise met with South Korea’s Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and feted the remarkable progress of the bilateral defense partnership of the two countries marked by sustained dialogue, education, and training exchanges, as well as robust logistics and defense industry cooperation.
“It was also our hope that the security situation in the Korean peninsula be resolved in a peaceful and diplomatic manner,” he added.
The Philippines also reaffirmed its commitment to advancing bilateral defense cooperation with Cambodia and New Zealand.
Faustino is eyeing more bilateral dialogues and training exchanges of armed forces, particularly on urban warfare, with Cambodia.
While New Zealand vowed to continue working with the Philippines in terms of pushing Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Response, pandemic response, and climate change strategies.