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Philippine, US defense chiefs discuss West Philippine Sea, VFA


Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and US Defense chief Lloyd Austin III on Sunday discussed the situation at the West Philippine Sea and the  Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which the Duterte Administration had attempted to abrogate.

In a statement, DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the defense chiefs of the two nations "discussed the situation in the West Philippine Sea and recent developments in regional security," during a teleconference.

After the continued presence of Chinese vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef,  the Philippines said it would use its mutual defense relations with the US to address the situation.

Recently, a Filipino vessel carrying ABS-CBN television crew was chased by a Chinese vessel along the Ayungin Shoal.

Austin also hoped that the VFA, which allows the US military to train with their Filipino counterparts, would be maintained.

Lorenzana, for his part, vowed to discuss the continuation of the deal with President Rodrigo Duterte, who has final approval on the matter.

Both Defense Secretaries were also "looking forward" to conducting the annual Balikatan exercise, which was suspended during in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also during the meeting, Lorenzana sought Austin's assistance to fast track the delivery of the ordered vaccines produced by American firm Moderna.

Austin said they would look into the issue and "bring it to the attention of the office concerned."

The country procured over P20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna but there were still no reports on the final date of delivery. — DVM, GMA News
 

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