US, Philippines to deepen collaboration in counter-terrorism

Washington: The US and Philippines are set to intensify their collaboration in areas including counter-terrorism, countering transnational drug trafficking and maritime security, according to a statement.

The joint statement, released by the US State Department on Friday, follows a bilateral strategic dialogue held in Washington on Thursday and Friday, during which the two sides discussed their shared concerns about security challenges and expressed their desire to strengthen regional cooperation under the ASEAN-US Strategic Partnership, Xinhua reported.

Senior officials reaffirmed their commitment to deepening collaboration in areas including maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, cybersecurity, countering transnational drug trafficking, and countering terrorism, said the statement.

The US congratulated the Philippines on defeating the Islamic States-supported terrorists in Mindanao and vowed to continue to support the fight against terrorism.

Philippines has been working on strengthening its long-term ability to combat terrorist threats and prevent the spread of the IS militants to the region. 

Both sides noted the substantive discussions on cooperating in areas such as science and technology, agriculture and fisheries, and health and environment.