Philippines-Australia to kick off new defense cooperation next month

November 18, 2019

The Philippines and Australia have vowed to strengthen further their defense cooperation with a new program to be implemented starting next month.

A joint statement issued over the weekend said Australia would transition its support under "Operation Augury-Philippines to an Enhanced Defence Cooperation Program" beginning December 1.

Australian Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana made the announcement about the matter at the sidelines of the Asean Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Plus in Bangkok, Thailand on November 16.

"Minister Reynolds and Secretary Lorenzana agreed an Enhanced Defence Cooperation Program will allow the Australian Defence Force to continue delivering the capacity-building support for counter-terrorism cooperation requested by the Philippines," the statement said.

"The Program will also provide funding certainty and greater flexibility to meet the broader needs of the Australia-Philippines bilateral defence relationship," it added.

The statement noted that the long-term engagement under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Program would strengthen the two countries shared commitment to regional security and stability.

According to Australian Department of Defense, the "Operation Augury-Philippine is the Australian Defence Force's partnership activity with the Armed Forces of the Philippines focused on sharing experiences and approaches to countering complex urban terrorist tactics."

The joint statement also acknowledged that after the siege in Marawi City in October 2017, Australia’s contribution under Operation Augury-Philippines has provided counter-terrorism capacity training to over 10,000 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

"This training cooperation has included essential land-based activities focused on urban combat and joint coordination skills; air training focused on enhancing air coordination in the urban environment; and maritime training activities," it added. Robina Asido/DMS