JCS CHAIRMAN VIEWS COUNTERTERROR EFFORTS, MEETS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANILA 001384 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2018 TAGS: MARR MASS MCAP PREL RP SUBJECT: JCS CHAIRMAN VIEWS COUNTERTERROR EFFORTS, MEETS WITH PHILIPPINE MILITARY COUNTERPART Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: During his visit to the Philippines June 1-2, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen greeted U.S. Special Forces troops in the Southern Philippines, met with his Philippine counterpart, laid a wreath at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, spoke to Embassy employees at a town hall meeting, and breakfasted with all U.S. military personnel at Embassy Manila. It was the first visit by a U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to the Philippines since 2002. Stopping in the Philippines after his participation in the Shangri-La Dialogues in Singapore, Admiral Mullen pressed the Philippine military leadership on its commitment to improved human rights and praised their focus on professionalizing the Philippine Armed Forces. The Chairman reinforced the importance of the U.S.-Philippine relationship, saying that the USG would stay engaged and focused in the Philippines, particularly in supporting efforts to interdict terrorists, improve border security, and share lessons the USG has learned in other theaters. END SUMMARY. -------------- ADMIRAL MULLEN VISITS SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES -------------- ¶2. (C) U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Admiral Mike Mullen visited the Philippines June 1-2, the first visit by a JCS Chairman to the country since 2002. Accompanied by the Ambassador and key Embassy team members during his 20-hour visit, Admiral Mullen visited U.S. troops of Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) at their facility inside the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command Headquarters. Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff Alexander Yano accompanied Admiral Mullen for a brief office all on regional commander Lieutenant General Nelson Allaga and his staff. General Allaga thanked Admiral Mullen for the U.S. military's continued support and specifically mentioned the superb efforts of the JSOTF-P personnel in supporting combat operations and civil-military activities. ¶3. (C) Admiral Mullen met with an Embassy interagency team at the JSOTF-P compound and was briefed on the mix of military civil-military operations, USAID projects, public affairs programming, and law enforcement activities that make 
up the Embassy's multi-faceted approach to combating terrorism and countering insurgent movements. Responding to Admiral Mullen's query about the AFP's capabilities, JSOTF-P personnel informed the Admiral that the AFP had a strong commitment to the mission of defeating terrorists in the Southern Philippines but that they lacked resources, including weapons, night vision devices, artillery systems, and patrol boats. -------------- AFP CHIEF OF STAFF -------------- ¶4. (C) In Manila, Admiral Mullen met with General Yano and his staff at AFP General Headquarters. The two had a wide-ranging and substantive discussion. General Yano took the opportunity to highlight progress the Philippine Armed Forces had made in addressing extrajudicial killings and corruption. Yano said that although the AFP had received criticism, there was no government policy that sanctioned extrajudicial killings and that he had made it a priority to boost the morale and ethical reputation of the military, citing the recent handover to civilian authorities of an enlisted soldier suspected in the murder of a labor leader. Admiral Mullen praised Yano for his commitment to combating corruption, saying Yano had a positive reputation as a leader who promoted transparency, a reputation that was widely known outside the Philippines. Yano acknowledged that corruption exists in the Philippine Armed Forces and that he was taking measures to stem it -- including conducting court martial proceedings against a Major General facing corruption charges -- but that military personnel were entitled to due process. Admiral Mullen concurred, emphasizing that consistency in the judicial system was key in influencing younger officers to follow a path that respects human rights and is free of corruption. ¶5. (C) Turning to U.S.-Philippine cooperation on MANILA 00001384 002 OF 003 counterterrorism issues, Yano thanked the Admiral for the sustained U.S. commitment to the Philippine Armed Forces. He said the support of the Embassy and USG team had been critical to the successes the Philippine government had achieved against Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists over the last two years. However, Yano said that now was the time to step up efforts to interdict the remaining high-value terrorists in the Sulu Archipelago. Yano emphasized that civil-military operations would be matched with more surgical strikes to reduce terrorist support and minimize the prospect of collateral damage among civilians, but that the AFP's greatest challenge was identifying the terrorists and their supporters among the complex and interrelated social networks that typify the Southern Philippines. Admiral Mullen acknowledged this difficulty, saying that it is too easy to try to label individuals as having a specific affiliation when the reality is that one person could be allied with multiple insurgent or terrorist groups and even have relatives in the government. ¶6. (C) Admiral Mullen emphasized to Yano that U.S. assistance to the Philippine Armed Forces would continue, noting that at the Shangri-La Dialogues, Secretary Gates had stressed that U.S. engagement in the Philippines was beneficial to both countries. U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq had learned much in the last six years, Admiral Mullen said, particularly in how technology, intelligence, and information have to be integrated, assessed, and utilized. That knowledge should be shared with our Philippine allies, so that U.S. and Philippine forces together can make the best use of lessons we have learned in other theaters. General Yano said that such information sharing was welcome and added that he hoped the U.S. would continue funding for Philippine Defense Reform and maritime border security, two areas in which the Philippine Armed Forces was making tremendous progress with U.S. assistance. -------------- -------------- AMERICAN CEMETERY, TOWN HALL, AND EMBASSY MILITARY PERSONNEL -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) While in Manila, Admiral Mullen breakfasted at the Ambassador's residence with approximately 30 members of the U.S. military assigned to Embassy Manila. The group included representatives of the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group, JSOTF-P, Defense Attach Office, Military Liaison Element, and Marine Guard Detachment. Admiral Mullen and his staff also visited the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, where over 17,000 U.S. soldiers are buried, to lay a wreath at the memorial. The Chairman concluded his visit by addressing a town hall meeting at the U.S. Embassy, attended by more than 300 Mission employees and capped off with the promotion ceremony of one of the Mission's military officers. In his comments, Admiral Mullen warmly praised the Embassy's interagency cooperation he had witnessed during his visit and said it was critical to the success of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the Philippines. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) Admiral Mullen's visit came at a key time, with General Yano having been on the job less than a month as AFP Chief. During his discussions with Admiral Mullen, Yano displayed a deft conversational style that reinforces our assessment that he is a strategic thinker. General Yano took the opportunity to introduce his entire staff to Admiral Mullen, and Yano's mention of specific programs such as Philippine Defense Reform, the Coast Watch South maritime security initiative, and the Battalion Retraining Program appeared to be aimed at boosting confidence among his new team that he would champion these issues in meetings with U.S. counterparts. At the same time, Yano took the initiative to discuss candidly the AFP's focus on improving its record on human rights and corruption. This may have had the dual purpose of reassuring USG interlocutors that these are front-burner issues, while sending a message to Yano's staff that he is serious about tackling extrajudicial killings and corruption. Admiral Mullen said the visit of President Arroyo to Washington this month for a meeting with President Bush was reflective of the strength of our bilateral relationship and that the Philippines will continue to be a priority for the United States. MANILA 00001384 003 OF 003 Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ KENNEY