PHILIPINE ARMED FORCES CHIEF OF STAFF ESPERON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000293 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2018 TAGS: MARR MASS MCAP PREL RP SUBJECT: PHILIPINE ARMED FORCES CHIEF OF STAFF ESPERON STRESSES U.S. ASSISTANCE, FORCE PROTECTION IN MEETING WITH AMBASSADOR KENNEY Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a February 1 private breakfast, the Ambassador and Philippine Chief of the Armed Forces General Hermogenes Esperon, who on January 25 was extended by President Arroyo until May 9, 2008, held a wide-ranging discussion. Esperon began by saying it was time to wrap up the campaign against high-value Muslim terrorist targets in the southern Philippines and that both the political and military leadership were committed to pressing the fight in the coming months. Discussing U.S. assistance with the Ambassador, Esperon said he was thrilled with the recent announcement that 1207 funds would be used to improve the airport in Jolo and requested even greater targeted information from the USG to help locate and capture high-value terrorists without putting civilians in danger. On the upcoming Balikatan exercises, the Ambassador again emphasized the need to make force protection of U.S. troops a top priority and Esperon concurred, saying it was critical to guarantee the safety of U.S. troops working alongside Philippine military forces. Esperon expounded on the security situation in the Sulu Archipelago, highlighting the need for stronger police capability and explaining the rationale behind the command changes and the relocation of Philippine forces in the southern Philippines as part of the Fleet Marine concept the Philippine government is implementing. Esperon voiced a strong interest in promoting strategic communications, saying he believes it could be used to improve morale among Philippine forces in the future. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- THANKFUL FOR U.S. ASSISTANCE, MORE INTEL REQUESTED -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) The Ambassador hosted Philippine Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces General Hermogenes Esperon at a private breakfast on February 1 and discussed a wide range of topics. On January 25, President Arroyo announced that Esperon, who had been slated to retire on February 9 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56, was extended in his position until May 9, 2008, at which time Chief of the Army General Alexander Yano would become the Chief of Staff. Esperon was candid in his assessment that the time had come to wrap up the fight against high-value Muslim terrorist targets in the southern Philippines, and that both the political and military leadership were committed to taking concrete steps towards this goal in the coming months. While discussing U.S. assistance with the Ambassador, Esperon remarked that he was thrilled that 1207 funds would be used in a USAID project to upgrade the airport in Jolo and said that as peace approaches, more infrastructure would be needed. Esperon thanked the Ambassador for intelligence sharing, saying it had helped the Philippine forces target specific individuals. At the same time, Esperon requested additional intelligence and capabilities to assist the Philippines in locating high-value terrorists and bringing combat operations against them, intelligence that Esperon said was critical to reducing the potential for civilian casualties. -------------- PROTECTION OF U.S. TROOPS A PRIORITY -------------- ¶3. (C) Turning to the upcoming joint U.S.-Philippine Balikatan exercises, the Ambassador again raised the importance of force protection for U.S. troops and emphasized that if anything happened to U.S. soldiers, it could be extremely damaging to our counterterrorism assistance efforts. Esperon agreed completely, and said he had directed his commanders to make the security of U.S. forces a top priority, noting that it was an issue he took personally. -------------- -------------- MILITARY PROVIDING SECURITY BUT TRAINING POLICE IMPORTANT -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Esperon expounded on the recent changes in troop deployments in the Sulu Archipelago, whereby the Marines will have a greater role on Basilan and Jolo and the army will be more heavily concentrated on Mindanao. He said that this shift was related to the implementation of the Fleet Marine concept, which gives the Marines a distinct area of operations, that had been planned for some time. He added MANILA 00000293 002 OF 002 that the deployment of more Marines to Jolo, along with putting Brigadier Juancho Sabban in command there, would help step up the fight against specific terrorist targets on Jolo, who so far have eluded capture. While stating that cooperation with civilian authorities on Jolo, including Governor Tan, was going well, Esperon said that the police were woefully inadequate in their capabilities to provide public safety, and that long-term focus had to be on developing a competent police force, because the military could not be expected to provide security forever. -------------- EMPHASIS ON STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS -------------- ¶5. (C) Musing on what he might do when his term ends in May, Esperon said that he had long nursed a desire to promote better strategic communications among the armed forces. He said he believed that many of the endemic problems in the Philippine Armed Forces related to morale and weak rapport with the population could be addressed through a comprehensive approach to better communications with troops in the field. Esperon lamented that the strategic communications portion of Philippine Defense Reform had stalled. He said he wanted to encourage commanders to take advantage of broadcast media and other technology, including the websites and blogging, to move information more quickly to deployed units and populations in their areas. The Ambassador cited the U.S. Armed Forces Network (AFN) as a model in providing U.S. troops with up-to-date and useful information on both military and non-military issues, and Esperon remarked that it would be useful to have an AFN team provide advice and assistance as the initiative moves forward. ¶6. (C) Another communications challenge facing the military was the Philippine media, Esperon said. While there were always individuals who wanted to attack the U.S., Esperon said it was a small, but persistent minority. He said it was better to engage difficult journalists if they are part of the mainstream media, because in the end, he believed the positive message would get through. One key area Esperon said he was promoting among his commanders was the need for them to coordinate more effectively on public messaging with the Embassy Public Affairs Section and the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, not only in the coming weeks leading up to Balikatan, but long-term as we continue to engage audiences during future events. 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