PACOM COMMANDER KEATING CALLS ON PRESIDENT ARROYO

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANILA 002233 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR PM, EAP, EAP/RSP, AND EAP/MTS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2012 TAGS: PREL EAID MCAP PINS PTER MASS RP SUBJECT: PACOM COMMANDER KEATING CALLS ON PRESIDENT ARROYO Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) President Arroyo warmly congratulated and welcomed PACOM Commander Admiral Keating during a meeting at the Presidential Palace June 28. Secretary of Foreign Affairs Romulo, Defense Secretary Ebdane and Chief of Staff General Esperon also participated, together with Ambassador Kenney, DCM, JUSMAG Chief, PACOM EA and desk staff. Admiral Keating described his visit to the island of Jolo, where he was deeply impressed by Philippine marines' and soldiers' successful pursuit of terrorists in extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances. The President and Admiral agreed that our countries had struck the right combination of hard and soft power -- military operations, intelligence, civil military operations and development projects -- for continued success in the Philippines. Admiral Keating underscored U.S. consciousness of Philippine sovereignty, and noted that the U.S. military learns valuable lessons while supporting the Philippine military. He relayed that he and General Esperon had discussed expanding multilateral exercises in the region to build further on our strong bilateral relationship. ¶2. (C) President Arroyo recounted suggestions she heard during her recent visit to Japan that the Philippines host U.S. jungle training exercises to relieve pressure on populated Japanese lands. She indicated her support for hosting U.S. military training that does not require basing. Admiral Keating promised to explore the idea. The Admiral and Ambassador Kenney described the humanitarian mission of the USS Peleliu, which they were to visit later that day. President Arroyo said she hoped to attend the July 4th celebration on board off the coast of the typhoon-devastated Bicol region. They discussed the large numbers of Filipino American sailors on board visiting U.S. Navy ships, including the USS Blue Ridge, which the President visited. She recalled fondly that her brother had a large collection of model U.S. Navy ships when they were children. ¶3. (C) Admiral Keating described his visit to U.S. company Dell's call center where he and General Esperon surprised General Esperon's son, who is a manager there. Secretary Romulo noted how call center employment had expanded from 2,000 at the beginning of the President's term to more than 250,000 today. The President suggested that Admiral Keating visit Clark and Subic during his next visit, former U.S. bases that had been converted into successful and growing economic zones for logistics and communications. The Admiral promised to do so, together with his wife. The meeting concluded with warm thanks for the very successful partnership between our countries. ¶4. (U) This message coordinated and approved by Admiral Keating. KENNEY