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Committing to strengthen the partnership between the two longtime allies, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Jose C. Faustino Jr., chief officer of the Philippine Department of National Defense, met at Camp Smith, Hawaii.

The talks between the two defense leaders are based on a shared vision of “an open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific, without coercion or intimidation,” Austin said during remarks after the meeting. “The United States remains steadfast in our support for a strong and independent Philippines that can defend its sovereignty, ensure the prosperity of its people, and strengthen security in the region.”

The US military works closely with the Philippines. An example of this is an extensive exercise program. Austin said the two countries participate in more than 300 exercises a year, ranging in scope from the massive Balikatan exercise to port visits to expert exchanges. “This cooperation takes place every day and supports our alliance and our mutual defense treaty obligations,” he said.

All of this is covered in the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement signed in 2014. “Our US-Philippine Visiting Forces Agreement allows us to continue to work closely together and allows us to respond quickly to disasters and crises,” the secretary said.

“Our countries are working together to reach a common understanding of the importance of our defense alliances and what it means to recognize each other as equal partners in advancing our countries’ interests and promoting peace and prosperity in the region,” Faustino said.

But the alliance goes deeper than just a mutual defense treaty, Austin said. There are deep ties between the people of the Philippines and the United States. “This includes the strong friendships between our countries’ uniformed personnel and our veteran communities, and our proud diaspora communities immeasurably strengthen our proud democracy and our partnership,” he said.

The United States and the Philippines have a long history of cooperation. “We fought together, we trained together,” Austin said. “We are allies, … but we consider ourselves more of a family than anything else. And I’m proud to say … that I can’t imagine a day when the United States and the Philippines are not allies. That’s who we are.”

Faustino and Austin said the alliance’s priority areas include strengthening mutual defense treaty commitments, strengthening maritime cooperation and upgrading mutual defense postures. They also said that interoperability and information sharing needed to be improved.

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