US, PHL: Reaffirm steadfast commitment to Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951

From Ang Malaya (Jan 22): US, PHL: Reaffirm steadfast commitment to Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951

The two-day Fifth Philippines-United States Bilateral Strategic Dialogue ended yesterday. The forum provided means to strengthen cooperation, address medium and long-term strategies to keep US-Philippine alliance attuned to the realities of the 21st century.

In a joint statement Philippines and United States said “we reaffirmed our steadfast commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951, as reiterated in the November 2011 Manila Declaration and reiterated in the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).”

“We decided to continue mutually beneficial efforts to reinforce our respective national and collective defense capabilities, including countering terrorism; to strengthen maritime security and maritime domain awareness; and to enhance disaster risk management, disaster preparedness, and rapid response.

The dialogue was co-chaired by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Evan P. Garcia and Undersecretary of National Defense Pio Lorenzo F. Batino from Philippines and Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel and Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear for United State.

http://www.angmalaya.net/nation/2015/01/22/7657-us-phl-reaffirm-steadfast-commitment-to-mutual-defense-treaty-of-1951