Brawner: New PH-US task force is ‘bigger’ version of TF Ayungin

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. — Photo from AFP/Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — The new task force (TF) of Manila and Washington is a “complete” one and the result of TF Ayungin’s expansion, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said on Tuesday.

Brawner made known what became of the TF Ayungin once and for all during the opening ceremony of joint drills of AFP’s air, navy and army service branches at Camp Aguinaldo.

READ: Teodoro, Hegseth unveil new task force vs Chinese aggression in WPS

“The Task Force Philippines is a result of Task Force Ayungin becoming bigger and covering a bigger area not just Ayungin,” Brawner said in an ambush interview.

“What we’ve heard so far is that this Task Force Philippines will be a complete task force so that it will be able to, as I said, address all the domains of warfare,” he added.

On Friday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and US Secretary of War chief Pete Hegseth announced the formation of Task Force Philippines.

Teodoro said this task force is an efficiency mechanism to funnel all the activities “internally and externally” and also includes calamity response.

READ: DND: New PH-US task force also for calamity response

Activated during the time of former Department of Defense chief Lloyd Austin III, the former TF Ayungin got its name from the shoal where the BRP Sierra Madre is aground.

The announcement of TF Ayungin came months after the June 17, 2024 rotation and resupply mission in the shoal which led to a serious injury of a Philippine Navy personnel.

Teodoro said the Task Force Philippines is a function of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between Manila and Washington which calls on each other’s defense in case of an “armed attack.”

READ: China’s actions in Ayungin Shoal not an armed attack – Palace

The June 17, 2024 incident in Ayungin led to speculations that it could border on “armed attack” under MDT that may compel Washington to come to the defense of its sole treaty ally in Asia, but Malacañang said Manila is not yet ready to classify it as such. /das