The Philippines and the US signed a military intelligence-sharing deal today, deepening defense ties between the two nations facing common security challenges in the region.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin signed the agreement with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, at Manila's military headquarters, where they also broke ground for a coordination center that is to facilitate collaboration between their armed forces.
Photo: AFP / Philippine Department of National Defense
Called the General Security of Military Information Agreement or GSOMIA, the pact allows both countries to share classified military information securely.
"Not only will this allow the Philippines access to higher capabilities and big-ticket items from the United States, it will also open opportunities to pursue similar agreements with like-minded nations," Philippine Department of National Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said.
Security engagements between the US and the Philippines have deepened under US President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China's aggressive policies in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said any kind of military agreement or security cooperation "must not be directed against or harm the interests of a third party, and they must not undermine regional peace or exacerbate tensions in the region."
"The only correct choice for safeguarding one's own national security and maintaining peace and stability in the region is to adhere to good neighborly relations and to strategic autonomy," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian (林劍) said.
The US and the Philippines have a mutual defense treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea.
"I want to start by underscoring our ironclad commitment to the Philippines," Austin said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
Austin said the coordination center should enable real-time information sharing between the two defense treaty allies and boost interoperability.
"It will be a place where our forces can work side by side to respond to regional challenges," Austin said.
The Philippines has expressed confidence the alliance would remain strong under incoming US president-elect Donald Trump.
Indonesia was to sign an agreement to repatriate two British nationals, including a grandmother languishing on death row for drug-related crimes, an Indonesian government source said yesterday. “The practical arrangement will be signed today. The transfer will be done immediately after the technical side of the transfer is agreed,” the source said, identifying Lindsay Sandiford and 35-year-old Shahab Shahabadi as the people being transferred. Sandiford, a grandmother, was sentenced to death on the island of Bali in 2013 after she was convicted of trafficking drugs. Customs officers found cocaine worth an estimated US$2.14 million hidden in a false bottom in Sandiford’s suitcase when
CAUSE UNKNOWN: Weather and runway conditions were suitable for flight operations at the time of the accident, and no distress signal was sent, authorities said A cargo aircraft skidded off the runway into the sea at Hong Kong International Airport early yesterday, killing two ground crew in a patrol car, in one of the worst accidents in the airport’s 27-year history. The incident occurred at about 3:50am, when the plane is suspected to have lost control upon landing, veering off the runway and crashing through a fence, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said. The jet hit a security patrol car on the perimeter road outside the runway zone, which then fell into the water, it said in a statement. The four crew members on the plane, which
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner yesterday signed a coalition deal, paving the way for Sanae Takaichi to become the nation’s first female prime minister. The 11th-hour agreement with the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) came just a day before the lower house was due to vote on Takaichi’s appointment as the fifth prime minister in as many years. If she wins, she will take office the same day. “I’m very much looking forward to working with you on efforts to make Japan’s economy stronger, and to reshape Japan as a country that can be responsible for future generations,”
SEVEN-MINUTE HEIST: The masked thieves stole nine pieces of 19th-century jewelry, including a crown, which they dropped and damaged as they made their escape The hunt was on yesterday for the band of thieves who stole eight priceless royal pieces of jewelry from the Louvre Museum in the heart of Paris in broad daylight. Officials said a team of 60 investigators was working on the theory that the raid was planned and executed by an organized crime group. The heist reignited a row over a lack of security in France’s museums, with French Minister of Justice yesterday admitting to security flaws in protecting the Louvre. “What is certain is that we have failed, since people were able to park a furniture hoist in the middle of
RSS