PH, Australia step up joint defense efforts this year
Metro Manila, Philippines – Military training activities between the Philippines and Australia are set to more than double in 2025, as both nations deepen defense cooperation and broaden interoperability through the Joint Australian Training Team - Philippines (JATT-P) program.
Under the expanded initiative, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will carry out over 20 joint training activities and exchanges throughout the year—more than twice the number conducted in 2024.
“The program allows us to continue building the strong people-to-people links that support our deep cooperation in defence and security,” said Australian Defence Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral Justin Jones.
“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. Our ongoing and deepening interactions with the Philippines signals our commitment to being a major and reliable defence partner in the region,” he added.
Established in 2019, the JATT-P program deploys Mobile Training Teams (MTTs) from the ADF to deliver targeted military instruction across the Philippines and support a variety of joint exercises. The effort forms part of Australia’s Enhanced Defence Cooperation Program with the Philippines.
Throughout 2025, Australian forces will engage with several hundred AFP personnel and officials from the Department of National Defense. Each team will focus on a specific area of military expertise, such as combined joint planning, fire support, combat engineering, maritime sustainment, aircraft maintenance, intelligence analysis, and aviation safety.
The program will also include training across land, sea, air, and cyber domains.
“We will also conduct engagement and training in cyber security, as well as logistics and support functions necessary for contemporary operations,” said Major Lachlan Newham, Coordinator for JATT-P.
“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. A defining feature is the close and genuine personal bonds and trust that invariably forms between our personnel and their Filipino counterparts more broadly,” he added.
On Tuesday, April 8, Australia turned over ₱34 million worth of drone equipment to the Philippine Coast Guard to strengthen Manila's maritime domain awareness and protection capabilities.
Australia and the Philippines signed a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) in 2007, which allows Australian troops to train and conduct exercises in the Philippines—similar to the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States. The SOVFA has enabled more frequent and complex joint activities between the two nations.
Australian troops have also participated in the annual US-Philippines "Balikatan" military exercises, and joint patrols with the Philippines and other “like-minded” countries in the South China Sea.
