By Xinhua,
Manila : The chief of the United States military made a formal call to his Philippine counterpart on Monday, renewing its commitment for military aid and counter-terrorism assistance to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The visit of Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was part of the American military general’s call to the chiefs of the armed forces of different nations. After his trip to Manila, Admiral Mullen is scheduled to fly to South Korea ,local media reports said.
In an interview, the Philippines’ military chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano said Mullen reiterated the United States’ commitment to sustain military aid to the Philippines and continue conducting joint training exercises during a “customary call” at the general headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Yano said the standing cooperation between the two militaries were discussed during a 30-minute meeting between the two chiefs, Philippine TV network GMA News reported.
Mullen is the second chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staffto visit the country.
“We are happy and honored that he has visited us and paid a call on me. It only shows or manifests the importance of the robust RP-U.S. relationship that has spanned several years,” Yano said.
“(We discussed) the usual military relationship between U.S. and RP and the support and assistance of the armed forces and government of the United States to our armed forces, particularly in capability upgrade and modernization for our armed forces and our war against terror, cooperation between the Philippines and the U.S.,” Yano told reporters.
When asked whether Mullen pledged new anti-terrorism aid to the Philippines, Yano said, “Just sustainment of what they have started. There were some assistance in terms of funds but there is nothing new and of course technical people to support us on the side of the U.S. Armed Forces.”
Mullen arrived in the country last Sunday, through its southern city of Zamboanga where he visited U.S. troops stationed in Mindanao for military exercises and those training local forces inthe offensive against the Abu Sayyaf bandit group.
His arrival came three days after a bomb went off outside the office of a U.S.-funded agency in Zamboanga, killing three and injuring 17 others.
Yano said the blast was not discussed during his talks with Mullen, saying the subject was “too small” a concern for the head of the U.S. military and that these matters are left to his operational deputies.
In the interview, Yano said he and Mullen also discussed military exercises between Filipino and American forces, including the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) training, the largest among the many exercises conducted on a yearly basis.
“We will continue with that. There are three military exercises that we have regularly conducted. They will continue,” Yano said.