MANILA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States and the Philippines have agreed to conduct 261 joint military activities next year, as the Philippines is pursuing warmer relations with its treaty ally, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief said on Thursday.
Gen. Eduardo Ano, AFP chief of staff, told reporters that Manila and Washington recognize the importance of the joint military activities in confronting the security threats facing the region, including terrorism.
"We've agreed to conduct 261 joint military activities...so from 258 (this year) we have decided to level up the joint activities because the results of the past exercises were good," Ano told reporters.
He added that joint exercises in 2018 will focus on counterterrorism, territorial defense and disaster response.
