United States Marine Corps (USMC) commandant General David Berger visited the Philippines on September 10 to 11, marking the fourth time a US defense and military top brass drops by the country in the last six weeks. 

According to the US Embassy in Manila, Berger met with senior Philippine military and defense officials to discuss the importance of maritime alliance between the two long-time allies. The USMC commandant had met Armed Forces of the Philippines vice chief Lieutenant General Erickson Gloria, Philippine Navy chief Rear Admiral Adeluis Bordado, and his counterpart in the Philippine Marine Corps commandant Major General Ariel Caculitan. 

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During his visit, Berger reiterated the importance of realistic training between the US and Philippine Marines under bilateral training, such as Kamandag and Balikatan exercises. The Marine Corps is the special unit of the Philippine Navy in charge of amphibious, expeditionary, and special operations missions. 

This was the first visit to the Philippines by a US Marine chief since 2017. 

Series of visits

In a span of six weeks , at least four high-ranking US defense and military officers had visited the country. This series of visits came after the cancellation of the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the US. 

In July 29, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the country to hold a meeting with his counterpart, Manila’s defense chief Delfin Lorenzana. Before Austin left, Lorenzana announced the cancellation of the VFA termination. 

Shortly after the two defense chiefs’ meeting, on August 18, a US navy warship docked in Manila to visit the country for the first time since 2019. Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the US 7th Fleet, led the visit. 

The US 7th Fleet is the largest US Navy’s forward-deployed fleet, which has more than 50 watercraft and 150 aircraft. Its theater of operations covers 36 countries, including the Philippines.

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On August 24, United States Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral John Aquilino also visited the Philippines to reiterate the mutual cooperation between the US and the Philippines. The US Indo-Pacific Command operates in more than 20 countries in the region, which includes the Philippines. 

Aside from visits, the US has also been beneficial in the continuous training of Philippine maritime personnel. On September 1, the Philippine and US Coast Guard held joint maritime exercises in waters near Subic, Zambales. 

With the continuous mending of the Philippine-US relationship due to years of Duterte’s pivot to China and threats of abrogating the VFA, Lorenzana also visited the US on September 10 to hold a meeting with US officials. During the visit, both Lorenzana and Austin agreed to push for stronger maritime cooperation between the two countries. – Rappler.com