US Pacific Fleet Commander wants to expand US-PHL war games into multilateral engagements

From Ang Malaya (Jul 28): US Pacific Fleet Commander wants to expand US-PHL war games into multilateral engagements

The Commander of United States Pacific Fleet, Admiral Scott H. Swift is “very interested” to expand US Navy-Armed Forces of the Philippines military exercises into multilateral engagements with other partner-nations. The US Navy Admiral visited the Philippines July 16-19.

“It is important that the approach be a multilateral approach, not a bilateral one,” he said. “These problems are common to many countries, not just one.”

The US Embassy in Manila said Swift’s visit to Philippines included a media engagement, observation of a routine P-8 flight in West Philippine Sea, a wreath laying ceremony at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial and a plaque exchange with AFP leadership.

Admiral Swift commended Philippine efforts to hold military readiness exercises with U.S. allies like Japan, which held search and rescue drills for the first time with the Philippine Navy last month.

The US Pacific Fleet is headquartered in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It is regarded as the world’s largest naval headquarters, with about 200 ships and submarines, nearly 1,100 aircraft and more than 140,000 sailors and civilians.

http://www.angmalaya.net/nation/2015/07/28/12367-us-pacific-fleet-commander-wants-to-expand-us-phl-war-games-into-multilateral-engagements