Philippines, US to take up defense ties, regional security

CEBU, Philippines — Strengthening the Philippines’ alliance with the United States, defense modernization, and regional security are expected to be among the key issues in bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the ASEAN defense meetings in Cebu, Department of National Defense Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong said Tuesday.

Andolong said the Philippines continues to prioritize its partnership with the U.S., particularly in operational cooperation and future defense capacity and capability building.

The discussions are expected to take place ahead of the anticipated visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose stated priorities include strengthening deterrence, expanding burden-sharing among allies, and advancing key alliances.

However, Andolong said it was too early to disclose specific outcomes of the bilateral engagements, as these would depend on the discussions between the two sides.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. is expected to provide further details during his turnover address on Thursday, he added.

Beyond the Philippine-U.S. engagements, the ASEAN defense meetings are expected to cover broader regional security concerns, including the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea.

Andolong said China had been invited to participate in the meetings, but the Philippines had yet to receive confirmation on the composition of its delegation or whether its defense minister would attend.

Other anticipated areas of practical defense cooperation include maritime security, cybersecurity, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, counterterrorism, peacekeeping operations, military medicine, and humanitarian mine action.

Working groups are still discussing the agenda, which would be finalized before the formal meetings begin, Andolong said.

On the proposed ASEAN-Japan defense ministers’ meeting, he said discussions would likely focus on matters agreed upon during previous engagements, although he could not confirm specific agenda items or whether there would be follow-through on the joint cooperation arrangement mentioned during the briefing.

Asked whether the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, could undermine ASEAN unity, Andolong said the grouping serves as a dialogue mechanism among partners and is not intended to replace the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM).

Engaging more dialogue partners could promote greater understanding rather than necessarily divide the region, he said.

The Philippines is hosting the 20th ADMM and the 13th ADMM-Plus on October 28 and 29 in Lapu-Lapu City under its 2026 ASEAN chairship and the theme “Navigating Our Future, Together.”

The ADMM serves as ASEAN’s principal defense consultative and cooperative mechanism, while the ADMM-Plus expands defense cooperation to eight dialogue partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the U.S.

The Philippines is scheduled to turn over the chairship of the ADMM and ADMM-Plus to Singapore on Thursday, October 29. (CEBU NEWS)