Bilateral Defense Guidelines include AFP modernization, cyber defense
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States have finally released their Bilateral Defense Guidelines, which outline the priorities of the alliance in the coming years.
“The leaders’ discussion reaffirmed the United States and the Philippines’ enduring commitment to stand shoulder-to-shoulder as allies to bring greater security, prosperity, and stability to the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder noted in a readout.
The release of the document comes as President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. visited the Pentagon during his official working visit to the United States, where he also met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Manila is Washington’s oldest defense and treaty ally in the region, with a Mutual Defense Treaty that entered into force in 1952 along with other security agreements.
The new guidelines aim to direct a "whole-of government coordination" as well as promote working with "like-minded partners." Among the other priorities detailed in the six-page document released on Wednesday details the following:
- Better coordinating and bilateral planning to ensure territorial integrity and security of both parties, with the guidelines explicitly stating that “either country may request support when it assess that a threat is imminent or when indicators of an armed attack may arise”;
- The need for better interoperability and developing inter-agency capabilities of Philippine and American security establishments;
- Expand information-sharing activities, including analyst-to-analyst exchanges, and joint training exercises with expanded cooperation in maritime domain and security and air defense capability;
- Working with the Philippines’ goal of modernizing its defense capabilities, through working with Manila on its defense budget planning and finishing the Security Sector Assistance Roadmap;
- Improving cyber defense and cyber security cooperation as well as expanding capacity-building and training activities for other forms of attacks such as chemical attacks, biological, radiobiological, and nuclear;
- Working with multi-lateral fora and other forms of cooperation “based on common issues of shared concern”
The meetings between Manila and Washington this week follows several other high-level engagements between the two countries amid geopolitical tensions, particularly involving China on the West Philippine Sea.
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