Army hosts meeting of PH, US, Japan, and Australia top brass

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine army on Monday said it was the host of a high-level meeting of military officials from the country, along with the top brass from the United States, Japan, and Australia.

The meeting dubbed as Core 4 Technical Working Group two-star level meeting was held at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio from Saturday to Sunday.

This meeting focused on enhancing interoperability and aligning military exercises among regional partners and allies, reinforcing collective defense capabilities in the Indo-Pacific Region.

“Discussions emphasized the importance of information sharing and mutual trust, recognizing these as key pillars for effective multilateral cooperation,” the Army said in a statement.

READ: US, Japan, Australia to join PH in patrolling West Philippine Sea

This meeting was attended by Maj. Gen. Scott Winter of United States-Army Pacific; Col. Christopher Winn of United States Marine Corps Forces, Pacific; Maj. Gen. Norimichi Shirakawa of Japan Ground Self-Defense Force; Australian Army’s Brig. Gen. Dean Thompson; Brig. Gen. Vicente MAP Blanco III, Deputy Commandant of Philippine Marine Corps; and Maj. Gen. Leodevic B Guinid, vice commander of the Philippine Army.

The next Core 4 engagement will take place in May this year in Hawaii.

Last month, the United States, Japan and Australia joined the country in its joint patrol in the West Philippine Sea.

The four nations regularly hold patrols in the West Philippine Sea dubbed as the multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA). The MMCA of these four countries has been held six times so far.

The war games between Manila and Washington will also be held in the coming months, with Tokyo and Canberra regularly serving as observers. —Keith Clores, INQUIRER.net trainee