US, Philippines discuss increased military cooperation

WASHINGTON–Senior US and Philippine officials discussed increased military cooperation on Thursday, US officials said, as Washington seeks to reassure Asian allies anxious about an assertive China.

The talks are set against a backdrop of plans for greater US military cooperation with the Philippines, Singapore and Australia as Washington adopts a new defense posture for Southeast Asia.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US-Philippines meetings at the State Department build on points Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made when she visited Manila last November.

Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Lavoy met Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Erlinda Basilio and Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino, Nuland said.

The talks are set to continue through Friday.

“This will be a chance for… Lavoy to brief Philippine counterparts on the new defense strategy… and also to talk about how we can work together to build capacity, increase training, increase cooperation in line with that,” Nuland said.

Under budgetary pressures, President Barack Obama’s administration has adopted a new defense strategy shifting the military focus from Iraq and Afghanistan to Asia, where China’s new assertiveness has rattled US allies.

Nuland recalled that Clinton, when she visited Manila, backed enhanced military cooperation with the Philippines while stressing that Washington did not aim to re-establish military bases or deploy forces permanently there.

With opposition from the Philippines, the United States pulled out of massive naval and air bases in the island nation 20 years ago.

“We are interested in taking up the offer of the Philippines to increase our training, increase our cooperation in a whole host of areas from search and rescue, freedom of navigation, countering terror and countering piracy, et cetera,” Nuland said.

The United States has been increasingly vocal about defending freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where tensions over territorial disputes between Beijing and Southeast Asian nations have been on the rise.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, presenting a US budget proposal that would cut the size of the Army, said that the United States was committed to focusing on Asia.

“We have a good relationship with the Philippines, including a good security relationship, and we intend and wish to build on that in the future,” Carter told reporters.

In an academic article forecasting the shape of the US Navy in 2025, Admiral Jonathan Greenert said the United States expects to station several combat ships in Singapore and may step up deployments to the Philippines and Thailand.

The chief of naval operations said Washington may also step up the periodic deployment of aircraft such as the P-8A Poseidon — which is being developed to track submarines — to regional treaty allies the Philippines and Thailand.

In November, the United States said it would deploy up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia and tighten air force cooperation, sparking concern from China.

The United States also has some 70,000 troops stationed in Japan and South Korea under longstanding alliances.