To improve the Philippines’ defense capacity, the United States and the Philippines are currently engaged in an ongoing discussion regarding the possible deployment of additional US military assets within Philippine territory.

Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, the Philippine Ambassador to the US, revealed that more visiting force exercises are scheduled before the end of the year, along with plans to deploy missile systems.

“This is just part of a bigger picture where we will do what we can to have interoperability in terms of training our soldiers to be able to use some of the equipment that the US may make available for our armed forces,” he said.

He emphasized that the Philippine government is coordinating closely with US Defense officials to determine which assets will best support the country’s long-term security goals.

“We’re not only talking about missile systems, but more importantly, other types of equipment that we’ll be able to use for our defense, part of our defense strategy, and at the same time, part of our alliance with the United States. So it's not just the missile systems, but also probably other equipment in relation [to] intelligence gathering and so forth and so on,” he added.

Romualdez also noted that any deployments will be carried out under existing agreements, such as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Mutual Defense Treaty.

According to him, these plans are aligned with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s goal of modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and strengthening the country’s territorial defense posture, especially in light of ongoing tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

The Ambassador reiterated that these efforts are meant purely for defensive purposes and are intended to enhance the country’s ability to protect its sovereignty and respond to external threats.

Eldrick Louh Ignacio

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