Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. received United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III during his fourth visit to the Philippines on November 18, 2024. They celebrated the remarkable strides the United States and the Philippines have made to expand and modernize the alliance and reinforced their shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Austin announced the U.S. commitment to support the Philippines’ response to Super Typhoon Pepito, including $1 million in additional humanitarian assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
During their discussions, the leaders discussed defense cooperative activities, as well as regional security concerns. Austin and Teodoro signed a General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), a critical step to enhance information sharing and deepen interoperability. The Secretaries also co-led the groundbreaking ceremony for a new bilateral Combined Coordination Center (CCC). These bilateral undertakings will improve joint efforts to plan bilateral exercises, operations, and humanitarian response efforts in order to address common challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
The leaders also visited a bilateral C2 Fusion Center—one of several built by USINDOPACOM in the Philippines to enhance information sharing. They observed a demonstration of a T-12 Unmanned Surface Vessel, one of several unmanned capabilities that the United States has provided to the Philippine Navy through Foreign Military Financing, which are instrumental to advance the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP’s) intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and maritime domain awareness (MDA) capabilities.
