MANILA – The Philippine Army (PA) along with its American and Japanese counterparts held their first-ever trilateral meeting on Dec. 11, aimed at bolstering defense cooperation among the three partner nations.
In a statement Monday night, PA spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the meeting, known as the Japan-Philippine-US Trilateral Key Leaders’ Engagement, was held at Camp Asaka in Tokyo.
Present during the meeting were PA chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., Japan Ground Self-Defense Force chief-of-staff Gen. Yoshida Yoshihide and United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) commander Gen. Charles Flynn.
"(The meeting aims) to bolster the defense cooperation and partnership among the three long-standing defense partners in the Indo-Pacific region," Trinidad said.
Meanwhile, Philippine Marine Corps commandant Maj. Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan and US Marine Forces Pacific commander Lt. Gen. William Jurney also joined the high-level meeting.
“Our armies have strong bilateral engagements with one another so having this trilateral cooperation is truly a great opportunity for us in the Philippine Army to further advance our capabilities,” Brawner said.
The trilateral meeting sets the stage for regularizing high-level talks among the Philippines, Japan and US ground forces which also strengthens future multilateral cooperation frameworks. (PNA)