United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed for the first time that American soldiers are deployed in the Philippines under the U.S. Task Force Ayungin.
On Tuesday, Austin visited the Command and Control Fusion Center in Palawan, where he met with several American service members deployed to the said task force.
He expressed his gratitude for the hard work of his fellow countrymen on behalf of the American people and the alliances and partnerships in the region.
I visited the Command and Control Fusion Centerin Palawan today. I also met with some American service members deployed to U.S. Task Force Ayungin, and I thanked them for their hard work on behalf of the American people and our alliances and partnerships in this region. pic.twitter.com/baqgo72r1T
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) November 19, 2024
The exact functions of the soldiers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command remain unspecified, but Austin noted that they are connected to Task Force Ayungin.
The name 'Ayungin' refers to a territory in the Philippines' West Philippine Sea, where the BRP Sierra Madre is stationed.
A photo released by Austin shows uniformed U.S. military personnel during a briefing with his Filipino counterpart, Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Secretary of National Defense.
Austin also visited the Antonio Bautista Airbase and the Western Command HQ, which is among the nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement sites in the Philippines.
"Our presence here is critical for our alliance with the Philippines, and for regional peace and stability," Austin said in a post in X.
Meanwhile, Austin expressed his gratitude to the U.S. and Filipino troops, as well as diplomatic personnel, for their collaborative efforts in responding to the series of six consecutive typhoons that recently struck the country.
