MANILA — The Philippines and Australia are aiming to conclude and sign their Defense Cooperation Arrangement (DCA) later this year, a move defense leaders said could transform the defense relationship between the two countries.
Following their 3rd Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Darwin on Friday, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the two sides reviewed the substantial progress in their defense cooperation and identified areas where the partnership can further expand.
“The exercise of our discussions today was twofold. Number one is to review the progress we’ve made, which I can say without exaggeration has been substantial, and to map out areas of potential convergence to make sure that what we are doing is sustainable and can be increased more,” Teodoro said in a press conference in Darwin.
Teodoro said the Philippines and Australia were also working on an information-sharing and secrecy agreement that would allow the two countries to cooperate more closely in the cyber domain.
“[It] is all important and which we hope to derive best practices, lessons and experiences from a mature system that Australia has,” he said.
According to the defense chief, the DCA would help bridge Manila and Canberra’s existing defense activities with more institutionalized arrangements.
“The process comes from down the activities, then it’s flexed through these mechanisms into more institutional arrangements. So, that provides the bridge between the policy side and the application side,” Teodoro said.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, meanwhile, said the two countries have made “really good progress” on the DCA.
“We’re really confident that we will be concluding this in a position to sign it later this year,” Marles said.
Marles described the arrangement as potentially transformative for the bilateral relationship, saying this would provide mechanisms for the two governments to work together in a “smoother and more seamless manner,” including by making government processes more adaptive, responsive and agile.
“What we’re doing in terms of maritime cooperation activities, what we’re doing in terms of defense exercises, what we’re doing in terms of defense infrastructure are all really important steps that we’re taking in respect of our relationship,” he said.
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PHILIPPINE PARTICIPATION IN AUSTRALIAN EXERCISES
The DCA comes as Manila and Canberra continue to expand military cooperation across the land, air, maritime and cyber domains.
The Philippines has participated in major Australian-led exercises this year, including Exercise Pitch Black, Exercise Carabaroo and Exercise Kakadu.
Marles said the Philippines’ participation in the three exercises represented a significant presence of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Australia.
The Philippines is also set to host Exercise ALON 2027, which will be Australia’s largest exercise outside the country next year.
“Just as the other iterations of Exercise ALON have seen it grow in breadth and complexity, as we spoke about it today, we are really confident that next year’s Exercise ALON will do the same,” Marles noted.
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INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
The two countries are likewise working on defense infrastructure in the Philippines, with eight projects underway across five Philippine military bases.
Marles said the infrastructure projects are aimed at strengthening the capabilities of the AFP while supporting a greater Australian presence in the country.
“We will continue with this infrastructure work. What that is doing is building the capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, but it is also underpinning a much greater Australian presence in the Philippines, which we deeply, deeply appreciate,” the defense minister said.
Teodoro also highlighted the need for closer interoperability between the two militaries, saying the growing cooperation should eventually move toward “more predictive and anticipatory coordination.”
“I believe now we’re very much at work on the functional relationships between one another, but we need to progress to more predictive and anticipative coordination if we are to meet the challenges of the future,” the official said.
“The security of the Philippines is vital to Australia and likewise. We must also remember that these defense arrangements are foundational to provide sustainability in all other arrangements, whether economic and trade and otherwise, and all important security,” he added.
The Philippines and Australia marked the 80th anniversary of their bilateral relations this year.