The Philippines and the United States moved to deepen cooperation on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and defense modernization following a meeting between senior officials from both countries on Friday in Quezon City.
In a statement, the Department of National Defense said Defense Undersecretary Fabian Pedregosa met with U.S. Department of Commerce acting Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis William Guidera at Camp Aguinaldo to discuss expanded collaboration on cybersecurity, trusted technologies, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and defense modernization.
“Usec. Pedregosa cited ongoing initiatives, including the establishment of the AFP Cyber Command and the creation of the Office of the Undersecretary for Information Systems and Cybersecurity, aimed at enhancing cyber resilience and advancing AI-enabled capabilities for cybersecurity response, threat intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and decision-making,” the DND said.
The discussions also tackled cooperation on trusted technology ecosystems, AI adoption, digital transformation initiatives, secure digital infrastructure, and modernization of C4ISTAR capabilities, or command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance systems.
The American delegation also presented priorities of the U.S. Department of Commerce, including initiatives on trusted AI partnerships and technology cooperation, while reaffirming the importance of the Philippines-United States alliance in promoting secure and resilient technology systems.
Both sides likewise discussed opportunities involving technology capability building, workforce development, industry engagement, and continued coordination with U.S. government agencies and industry stakeholders to support modernization efforts.
The meeting reaffirmed the commitment of Manila and Washington to strengthening “secure, resilient, and future-ready technology ecosystems” in support of national security and modernization goals.
