August 29, 2017

From August 23-24, U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) commander Admiral Harry Harris visited the Philippines and met with key officials including President Rodrigo Duterte. His visit reaffirmed the ongoing cooperation being forged by the two allies in spite of clear setbacks under Duterte’s reign thus far.

The United States and the Philippines have officially been treaty allies since the inking of the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951 and have a long history of security collaboration. Although the environment for bilateral cooperation has been somewhat complicated since Duterte took power last June and vowed to forge a more independent foreign policy that diversifies Manila’s alignments away from Washington and towards other powers like China and Russia, important collaboration in areas ranging from counter-terrorism to maritime security is still continuing.

On counter-terrorism, U.S. support for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has only intensified in recent months as Manila has confronted Islamic State-linked militants in the southern city of Marawi, which has exposed its well-known limitations.

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http://thediplomat.com/2017/08/what-did-the-us-pacific-military-chiefs-philippines-visit-accomplish/

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