Australia, Philippines, Japan and US discuss potential joint investment in Philippine military infrastructure at Cebu talks

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australia, the Philippines, Japan and the United States spoke about how they can jointly invest in infrastructure in the Philippines during a four-way meeting in Cebu. He also said hundreds of US personnel are expected to take part in Exercise Alon in 2027.

Australia, the Philippines, Japan and the United States have discussed closer defence cooperation, including potential joint investment in Philippine military infrastructure, during a four-way meeting in Cebu, The Philippine Times reported. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles confirmed the discussions in remarks delivered on Thursday, 29 October, following the meeting held on 28 October alongside the ASEAN defence meetings.

Speaking at a doorstop in the Philippines, Marles said the four-way meeting was "becoming an increasingly important gathering" and that the four countries had met as a group "over a number of years".

"...we spoke about how we can jointly invest in infrastructure here in the Philippines, and we've seen significant infrastructure developments across the Philippines, and that's– I mean it's in Luzon, but not just Luzon, in Mindanao, and so we're looking at that," he said.

Exercise Alon

Marles said Exercise Alon, the major bilateral exercise between Australia and the Philippines, is coming next year, and that "as part of that you will see hundreds of US personnel". He noted that Japan was an observer at the last Exercise Alon.

The Philippine Times reported that the talks also covered stronger coordination between defence policy specialists and opportunities to increase military cooperation through future exercises. It noted that no final agreement or funding commitment for joint infrastructure investment was confirmed in the remarks reviewed.

ADMM-Plus visit

Marles's office announced on 27 October that he would travel to the Philippines to represent Australia at the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus). The release said that from 28 to 29 October he would meet counterparts from across the Indo-Pacific and hold minilateral meetings with partners on priority areas including maritime security, defence infrastructure, cyber security and training and exercises.

"ASEAN sits at the core of Australia's vision for a peaceful, stable and prosperous region, where all countries are free to exercise their sovereignty," Marles said in the release.

Subscribe to newsletter