CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City—The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, General Romeo Brawner Jr, returned on October 17 to Marawi to celebrate the city’s liberation from IS-linked terrorists.

Fresh from his studies in the US Army War College, General Brawner, who called Marawi City his second home, recalled during his speech in the commemoration ceremony how he volunteered to participate in the campaign to free the city in 2017.

CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City—General Romeo Brawner Jr, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and HMA Laure Beaufils, UK’s Ambassador to the Philippines, talked of enhancing PH-UK defense partnership amid pressing issues in the West Philippine Sea.

HMA Beaufils visited the AFP General Headquarters here on October 16 and was welcomed by the CSAFP along with members of the Joint Staff and the AFP Surgeon General.

CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City – The Vice Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines, LtGen Arthur Cordura PAF expressed his confidence in sharing a “growing and progressive operational value” in Southeast Asia as he welcomed the delegates of the 8th Philippines-Vietnam Senior Officer’s Exchange Visit Program (SOEVP), headed by Sr. Col. Le Van Phan, Deputy Commander, Military Corp 1, Viet Nam People’s Army (VPA) in a Courtesy Call on October 16 at the General Headquarters.

“Our Armed Forces and yours have been sharing a growing and progressive operational value in Southeast Asia. For the longest time, we have endeavored to enhance our partnership. We hope that your delegation will enjoy the interactions here with our senior officers and be able to immerse yourselves in the culture that we have. We are optimistic that this visit will be productive for both our Armed Forces,” expressed LtGen Cordura.

CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City — The Philippine Navy’s (PN) BRP Benguet (LS507) warned off and issued consecutive radio challenges to China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy Ship 621 (PLAN 621) after it shadowed the former at an 80-yard distance and attempted to cross LS507's bow with a CPA (closest point of approach) of 350 yards at 5.8 Nautical Miles South West of Pag-asa Island on Friday, October 13. The PN vessel was en-route to Rizal Reef Station for the conduct of a regular rotation and resupply (RoRe) mission when the incident happened.

The PN crew cited the violation of the Collision Regulations (COLREG) in its radio challenges, and demanded that the Chinese vessel to steer clear of the BRP Benguet.