Edward Mico Joseph Agustin

The Philippine Army is undergoing a strategic shift from decades of internal security operations towards a posture focused on territorial defense, Army commanding general Lieutenant General Antonio Nafarrete said on Thursday.

Article (news)

PH Army reorients towards territorial defense, sustains counterinsurgency gains

Philippine Army 

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17558187242331755818720816.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Courtesy: Philippine Army </div>The Philippine Army is undergoing a strategic shift from decades of internal security operations towards a posture focused on territorial defense, Army commanding general Lieutenant General Antonio Nafarrete said on Thursday.“As we shift to territorial defense, the Army’s primary role is to protect our land. Territorial domain tayo. Of course, we will support the projection of the Philippine presence over our EEZ [exclusive economic zone], and as we develop, as we shift, we must be able to achieve a modern, agile, competent, multi-threat, and multi-domain Army force,” Nafarrete told ABS-CBN News in an interview at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.The official noted that the transition is anchored on the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC), which serves as the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) blueprint for external defense.“To address this range of contingencies across a spectrum of this conflict, as our guide, our CADC—the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept—should be able to develop our operations and our plans capable of publishing this wide range of operations under the territorial defense concept,” Nafarrete said.“These plans also include other mission areas, such as cyberspace domain, cognitive domain, and electromagnetic spectrum. So, we have a lot of challenges as we develop these capabilities.”<div>FROM INTERNAL SECURITY TO EXTERNAL DEFENSE</div>For decades, the Army has been heavily engaged in counterinsurgency campaigns.But Nafarrete stressed that the Army’s “conventional doctrine” allows for a smooth transition.“Our Army’s doctrine is really conventional, so there is little adjustment on our part. We’ve been fighting on our internal security operations, but the doctrines and concepts are just the same. So, we just need to elevate in terms of the size of our engagement because in ISO, it is usually small unit operations but by this time, we will be moving company to battalion to brigade sizes. We’re already doing that based on our exercises,” he explained.The Army chief added that they are close to wrapping up their counterinsurgency objectives.“Per the campaign plan of the AFP, we should be able to finish it by the end of December. Basically, we’re already on the finish line. We have already shifted some of our forces to those pockets of remnants of these insurgents. Mayroon na tayong nadeclare na insurgency-free areas nationwide,” Nafarrete said.Despite the pivot, the official stressed that the Army is sustaining its counterinsurgency gains by working closely with local government units (LGUs) to prevent the resurgence of communist and terrorist groups.“We’re shifting, but we’re still sustaining our gains. Our cooperation and engagements with the local chief executives and LGUs—ensuring the services needed to prevent ang pagbalik ng insurgency at local terrorists. It should always be a whole-of-nation approach, not just a military solution,” Nafarrete noted.On external defense, the Army is strengthening its skills and capabilities through exercises such as the CATEX (Combined Arms Training Exercise) Katihan and increasing interoperability with like-minded nations through joint drills.“While moving towards our external defense, we’re already conducting unilateral exercises—CATEX Katihan—and bilateral engagements with like-minded nations. We’re also doing exercises with the United States, South Korea and Japan, and other Southeast Asian nations. We’re also sending our staff to our allied countries,” the official said.<div>MODERNIZATION AND CYBER DEFENSE</div>According to Nafarrete, modernization efforts remain a priority, with key acquisitions in the pipeline.“With the large spectrum and cyber warfare, we’re developing our capabilities on cyber. And, of course, our missile systems—we are also procuring those weapons that we should be able to improve our weapon systems,” Nafarrete said.“We have our communications systems, sa cyber; there’s already from Horizon 1 and 2. Our armor assets and howitzers—those are the big-ticket items we&#x27;re expecting to be delivered,” he added.He also noted that the Army has made significant strides in cyber defense, citing the creation of the Cyber Battalion of the Army Signal Regiment (ASR).“The PA’s cyber capabilities has grown in leaps and bounds for the past years. Cyber attacks are a daily occurrence. What’s important is we are able to detect and deter these attacks. We already created a Cyber Battalion—which should be able to detect and prevent systems that will affect our communications and our computer systems.”He went on, “We are also doing some engagements with our allies and partners to improve our cyber capability. We are also collaborating with other agencies since cyber security is a shared responsibility.”

The Philippine Army is undergoing a strategic shift from decades of internal security operations towards a posture focused on territorial defense, Army commanding general Lieutenant General Antonio Nafarrete said on Thursday.