U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, left, Commander of U.S. Pacific Command Adm. Harry Harris Jr., and Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte meet at Malacanan Palace in the Philippines, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. COURTESY OF U.S. EMBASSY IN MANILA
America’s top Pacific commander has wrapped up a two-day visit to the Philippines, where he met with President Rodrigo Duterte and top military officials to discuss regional threats and an ongoing jihadist siege in the nation’s south.
Adm. Harry Harris met Wednesday with Duterte at Malacanang Palace, the president’s official residence and primary workplace, where they talked about further U.S. support to help end the conflict in the southern city of Marawi, said a statement by the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
Harris’ meetings with the Philippine defense secretary and chief of staff of the armed forces focused on upcoming bilateral U.S.-Philippine military engagements and military aid, the statement said.
Harris also traveled to Mindanao, the southern island province where Marawi is located, to meet with that region’s top military commander.
Marawi has been under a three-month siege by jihadist terrorists. Philippine forces recently recaptured the city’s main mosque, where gunmen had been holding hostages.
For the past 15 years, U.S. special operations personnel have rotated through Mindanao, where they have trained Philippine troops and provided sophisticated surveillance of terrorist groups.
Earlier in the week, the U.S. transferred a high-tech radar balloon to the Philippines intended to help the country monitor maritime and air traffic within its coastal waters.
United States formally handed over a tethered radar balloon system to the Philippines navy, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, during a ceremony at the Naval Education and Training Command in Zambales, Philippines. COURTESY OF U.S. EMBASSY IN MANILA
Formally called the 28M Class Tethered Aerostat Radar System, the balloon is used for low-level radar surveillance. Federal agencies in the U.S. use the system along the Mexican-American border, the Straits of Florida and the Caribbean, primarily to intercept illegal drugs.
The balloon was turned over to the Philippine Navy Tuesday by Col. Ernest Lee, chief of the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group in the Philippines, the statement said. It will be based at the Naval Education and Training Command in the coastal province of Zambales, northwest of Manila.
The transfer was part of the U.S. Maritime Security Initiative, which is used to build the maritime capacity of Southeast Asian countries.
The Philippines faces challenges to maritime security on several fronts.
Maritime activities by the jihadist group Abu Sayyaf pose a threat to regional trade and commerce, Zachary Abuza, a Southeast Asia security expert, told a U.S. House subcommittee on foreign affairs in May.
Between March 2016 and April 2017, the group was responsible for 19 maritime incidents and hostage takings, including one attempted attack, he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese vessels recently encroached on the Philippine-held island of Pagasa, which is part of the disputed Spratly Island chain. China has asserted sovereignty over the Spratlys, claims disputed by the Philippines and other countries in the region.
About 100 Filipinos live on Pagasa, the Philippines’ largest occupied outpost in the Spratlys.
The balloon was turned over to the Philippine Navy Tuesday by Col. Ernest Lee, chief of the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group in the Philippines, the statement said. It will be based at the Naval Education and Training Command in the coastal province of Zambales, northwest of Manila.
The transfer was part of the U.S. Maritime Security Initiative, which is used to build the maritime capacity of Southeast Asian countries.
The Philippines faces challenges to maritime security on several fronts.
Maritime activities by the jihadist group Abu Sayyaf pose a threat to regional trade and commerce, Zachary Abuza, a Southeast Asia security expert, told a U.S. House subcommittee on foreign affairs in May.
Between March 2016 and April 2017, the group was responsible for 19 maritime incidents and hostage takings, including one attempted attack, he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese vessels recently encroached on the Philippine-held island of Pagasa, which is part of the disputed Spratly Island chain. China has asserted sovereignty over the Spratlys, claims disputed by the Philippines and other countries in the region.
About 100 Filipinos live on Pagasa, the Philippines’ largest occupied outpost in the Spratlys.
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