The United States and the Philippines signed an agreement on Monday to secure the exchange of highly confidential military intelligence and technology in key weapons the U.S. would provide to Manila.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, signed the legally binding General Security of Military Information Agreement in Manila at a time when the longtime treaty allies have boosted their defense and military engagements, including large-scale joint combat drills, largely in response to China's increasingly aggressive actions in Asia.
The outgoing Biden administration has taken steps to strengthen an arc of military alliances across the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan or in the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing has claimed almost in its entirety.
That has dovetailed with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s thrust to strengthen his country's external defenses given an alarming escalation of territorial confrontations between Chinese and Filipinos forces in the South China Sea.
The Department of National Defense in Manila said the agreement aims to ensure the security of classified military information that would be exchanged between the U.S. and the Philippines.
It will "allow the Philippines access to higher capabilities and big-ticket items from the United States," the Philippine defense department said.
Neither side provided more details or released a copy of the agreement.
Two Philippine security officials, however, have told The Associated Press that such an agreement, similar to ones Washington has signed with other allied countries, would allow the U.S. to provide the Philippines with higher-level intelligence and more sophisticated weapons, including missile systems.
It would also provide the Philippine military access to U.S. satellite and drone surveillance systems with an assurance that such intelligence and details about sophisticated weapons would be kept highly secure to prevent possible leaks, the two Philippine officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive issue publicly.
Philippine efforts to obtain sophisticated weapons from the U.S. military in the past have been hampered by a lack of such an intelligence deal, including when Filipino forces were scrambling to fight a 2017 siege by Filipino and foreign militants aligned with the Islamic State group in southern Marawi city. Philippine forces, backed by U.S. and Australian spy planes, quelled the uprising after five months.
Austin and Teodoro also attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a center where the U.S. and Philippine militaries would coordinate future joint operations, including the exchange of information. Austin said the center "will be a place where our forces can work side-by-side to respond to regional challenges."
Austin renewed the U.S. commitment to the Philippines as an ally and told Teodoro that "we are more than allies. We are family."
The coordinating center, Teodoro said, would provide "a unified picture of the shared areas of responsibility and common approaches to threats against both our securities."
"I'm sure it will benefit future generations of both our peoples to come because although we may change people, the values don't change," Teodoro said.
The Philippine defense chief reiterated the crucial need for the U.S. security presence in the region, citing Marcos's repeated statements that such a presence "is essential for maintaining peace and stability in this region."