MANILA, Philippines – Australia’s Department of Defense confirmed that military training activities between its forces and the Philippines will increase in 2025, which aims to strengthen cooperation and to broaden interoperability.
“The Joint Australian Training Team - Philippines (JATT-P) program will conduct over 20 training activities and exchanges this year between the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), more than doubling the number delivered in 2024,” the Australian Defense Department said in a news release.
Established in 2019, JATT-P involves Mobile Training Teams (MTTs) from ADF conducting training activities in the Philippines and provides support to a range of exercises.
In the same news release, Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral Justin Jones AO CSC, RAN said the JATT-P program forms part of Australia’s Enhanced Defence Cooperation Program with the Philippines.
“The JATT-P program allows us to continue building the strong people-to-people links that support our deep cooperation in defence and security,” Vice Admiral Jones said.
“The Philippines is one of Australia’s most important regional defence partners, and we share a commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
The Defense Department also mentioned that throughout 2025, MTTs will engage with several hundred personnel from the AFP and representatives of the Department of National Defense of the Philippines.
According to Australia’s Defense Department, each MTT will deliver targeted training in a “specific skillset, mission, or area of military expertise.”
This will allow both nations to develop, enable and sustain joint and service combat proficiency in fields. This includes combined joint planning, fire support, combat engineering, maritime sustainment, aircraft maintenance, intelligence analysis, and aviation safety, the Australian Defense Department explained.
Meanwhile, Major Lachlan Newham, Coordinator for JATT-P, said MTTs vary in size and will be delivered as both field and classroom-based trainings.
He also mentioned that engagement and trainings in cybersecurity, logistics and support functions necessary for contemporary operations will also be conducted.
Ms Janelle Eoy from the Department of National Defense (Philippines) shares her research with ADF personnel and participants from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Coast Guard, Department of National Defense and Philippine National Police during the Strategic Communications and Military Public Affairs Workshop in Manila, Philippines. (Photo and caption courtesy of Department of Defense (Australia) / Photographer: CPL Janet Pan)
“The 2025 program builds on the success of our previous engagements, encompassing maritime, land and air domains” Major Newham said.
“Our experience of JATT-P has been that it’s an invaluable way for us to share experience and better understand each other’s perspective, and our approach to different skillsets,” he added.
The joint military trainings’ defining feature though, is the close and genuine personal bonds and trust that invariably forms between personnel of the Australian defense and their Filipino counterparts, Newham emphasized.
