Philippines steps up front-line role in Indo-Pacific with new US-linked task force

Initiative a shift from ad hoc cooperation to more institutionalised military integration

- Mara Cepeda Philippines Correspondent

The creation of Task Force Philippines marks a new chapter in the Manila-Washington alliance, linking in a unified framework military operations from coastal provinces facing the South China Sea to the northern islands near Taiwan.

Announced at the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 31, the initiative establishes a joint coordination mechanism between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US Indo-Pacific Command (Indopacom).

It is co-headed by AFP chief Romeo Brawner Jr and US Navy Admiral Samuel Paparo.

While operational details remain scarce, analysts say Task Force Philippines marks a shift from ad hoc cooperation between Manila and Washington to institutionalised military integration.

This is seen as a move that could strengthen deterrence against Chinese coercion in disputed waters.

“It is another step in the continued integration of US and Philippine forces, a progression from incidental and sporadic coordination towards a more integrated operational structure,” said US Air Force Colonel (Ret) Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight maritime transparency programme.

Run by Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Centre for National Security Innovation, the programme tracks China’s assertive behaviour in the South China Sea.

Task Force Philippines is designed to synchronise joint planning, intelligence sharing and crisis response across the archipelago.

Its operational mandate extends from the northern territories facing Taiwan to coastal areas like Palawan along the West Philippine Sea.

This is in the eastern portion of the South China Sea, which falls within Manila’s 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, but China claims it as its own.

The new task force complements Manila’s Comprehensive Archipelagic Defence Concept, the AFP strategy that seeks to secure all Philippine maritime zones.