Phl, US defense chiefs sign military info sharing pact

The defense chiefs of the Philippines and the United States (US) on Monday signed an agreement that would facilitate the sharing of classified military information.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and US Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) at the Armed Forces of the Philippines General Headquarters in Camp Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

GSOMIA is a legal agreement negotiated and established between the US government and a foreign government, which pushes for enhanced, expanded, and prompt sharing of information and cooperation in defense technology between the two nations.

The Department of National Defense touted the newly signed GSOMIA, which it describes as a “critical step” to improve the existing information sharing and deepen interoperability between the Philippines and the US.

Under GSOMIA, each party must “protect and handle Classified Military Information (CMI) to an equivalent degree of protection.”

The agreement does not commit either country to exchange information, which will only be shared “when and if the need arises.”

GSOMIA “clearly defines” the security equivalence between each country's security programs for classification and safeguarding standards for disclosed information.

It is a legally binding bilateral agreement between the US Department of Defense and its foreign partner's National Security Authority (NSA) or Designated Security Authority (DSA).

The pact is also foundational for other potential security agreements and “does not expire but can be amended or suspended if required.”

The GSOMIA is seen to benefit bilateral security and defense cooperation by streamlining the Foreign Military Sales process for certain classified technologies, allowing for the sharing of classified information that could benefit national defense, as well as building a more robust security approach to protecting classified military information between both nations by establishing "equivalency" between respective systems.

It also facilitates the groundwork for future mutually beneficial agreements and supports overarching objectives to deepen partnerships between nations.

During the signing, Teodoro also conferred an Outstanding Achievement Medal (OAM) to Austin in recognition of the US Defense Chief’s “substantial contributions to strengthening” the Manila-Washington bilateral defense ties and promoting regional security within the Indo-Pacific.