필리핀, 미국과 군사정보협정 체결하고 마닐라에 새로운 지휘시설 착공

[위종민]

미국의 로이드 오스틴 국방장관이 필리핀을 방문해 11월 18일 길베르토 테오도로 필리핀 국방장관과 만나 군사정보에 관한 일반 보안협정을 체결했네요. 양국간 정보공유를 확대하고, 국방기술 교환을 허용하는 내용이라고 합니다. 필리핀의 주장으로는 "같은 생각을 가진 국가들"과 더 많은 정보공유 기회를 열어줄 것이라고 합니다. 

또한 필리핀 육군 본부가 위치한 캠프 아기날도에 새로운 연합지휘 통제 센터를 착공했습니다. 

U.S. and Philippines Sign Intel Treaty, Break Ground on new Command Center  - USNI News

U.S. and Philippines Sign Intel Treaty, Break Ground on new Command Center 

Aaron-Matthew Lariosa

November 18, 2024 5:22 PM

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrives at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Nov. 18, 2024. DoD Photo

American and Philippine officials inked an intelligence-sharing agreement and broke ground on a new command center in Manila today as the two countries tighten defense and security relationship amid South China Sea tensions.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement, a long-gestating treaty permitting the transfer of sensitive intelligence between the two long-standing allies. The agreement will also allow for the exchange of defense technologies and expand information sharing according to a Pentagon release on Austin’s visit to the oldest U.S. treaty ally in the region. Manila also claimed that the agreement would open up more intelligence-sharing opportunities with other “like-minded nations.”

Austin and Teodoro broke ground for a new Combined Coordination Center at Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Philippine military stressed the importance of the new command and control center, citing its creation as a “tangible representation” of the alliance and its future use as a “key liaison platform” during military exchanges, defense planning and modernization initiatives.

“This center will enable real-time information sharing for a common operating picture, and it will help boost interoperability for many years to come. It will be a place where our forces can work side-by-side to respond to regional challenges,” said Austin.

U.S. forces currently operate drones from two airfields in the Philippines in Luzon and Mindanao respectively. While Army drones have been operating out of Edwin Andrews Air Base for years in support of counterinsurgency operations in Mindanao, one of the drones was spotted last year monitoring a Philippine resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57) that was being harassed by Chinese forces in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the Marine Corps deployed an unspecified number of MQ-9A Reaper drones to Basa Air Base, which permits the deployment of American forces under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, in the Spring in support of combined intelligence-gathering missions. Navy P-8A Poseidons have also been spotted at numerous airfields across the country from Cebu-Mactan to Clark International Airport.

Alongside the intelligence pact and the command and control center, Austin also announced an additional $1 million in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief funding ahead of the sixth major storm to hit the Philippines within the last two months. This adds onto the existing $5.5 million already committed by Washington via the U.S. Agency for International Development. The intensity and frequency of storms that hit the Southeast Asian country have drastically increased this summer, prompting Manila to call upon U.S. and ASEAN partners to aid in disaster relief efforts in Luzon.

Last month saw the 15th Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Rotational Force – Southeast Asia, which arrived prior to the KAMANDAG Marine drills, aid Philippine forces in ferrying supplies to Northern Luzon via MV-22B Ospreys from USS Boxer (LHD 4). Indonesian, Singaporean, Malaysian and Bruneian aviation also arrived earlier in the month for relief operations.

Austin’s visit caps off an intensive period of cooperation between Washington and Manila during the Biden Administration, which included enhanced basing access, more realistic and frequent military exercises and half a billion in military aid. Tomorrow, Austin is slated to visit the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command, the primary force encountering China in the South China Sea in Palawan.