DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana welcomed Tuesday President Rodrigo Duterte's openness to the idea of holding exercises between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and China in the seas around Mindanao.
Lorenzana said the agreement or memorandum, which will be formalized by representatives of both countries, is necessary for such activity as it will determine who will participate in it, what is the purpose of such, where it will take place and when will the events be conducted.
"This is important because they will be entering our territorial waters. And if their sailors will get on land, there may be a need for a visiting forces agreement to be concurred by the Senate," he said, adding that they will confide first with their lawyers regarding the plan.
On Monday, Duterte visited China's flagship destroyer Changchun, which docked at the Sasa Port in Davao City, where he said that he is open for the Philippine and China's joint military exercises not only in the disputed South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) but also in Sulu Sea.
For his part, Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said such opportunity is important, especially now that the country is facing threats, which may need responses on an international level.
"In addition, it is customary for various armed forces to train together to become familiar with each other. Having joint military exercises with other countries will benefit us since these will expose our troops to new doctrines and new technology," he said.
"These exercises will also allow us to assess how our own doctrines fare against our foreign counterparts," he added.
Andolong, however, echoed Lorenzana's statement that an agreement regarding the President's plan is necessary.
Meanwhile, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Eduardo Año said the military is also open to holding joint exercises with other countries.
He said a memorandum like that of the Visiting Forces Agreement is a must to define the term of reference or protocol.
He added that it must be in adherence to the existing agreement with other allied countries.
Año said Sulu Sea will be a good venue for such exercise as "it will provide excellent real life scenario to improve and hone our maritime security capabilities." (VoxPop Philippines)
