Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to the Pentagon

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan welcomed Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to the Pentagon.

The U.S. relationship with the Philippines:

1.The Philippines were a U.S. possession from 1898 to 1946.

2.The Philippine Division was an essential part of the U.S. Army’s Philippine Department, which existed from 1921 through World War II. Up to 400,000 Filipinos served in the U.S. military during WWII.

3.U.S. and Philippine forces fought together during WWII in the Philippines Campaign, which included three major battles to liberate the islands from Japanese forces. The last Japanese soldier on the islands held out for 29 years — finally surrendering in 1974.

4.Balikatan is the annual military exercise between the U.S. and the Philippines. Balikatan is Tagalog for ”shoulder to shoulder.”

5.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in February that the U.S. is committed to its 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines. The treaty affirms that the U.S. will come to the aid of the Philippines if it is attacked.

6. According to the 2010 Census, there are 3.4 million Filipino Americans, the nation’s second largest Asian ancestry group after Chinese Americans.

Sources:

U.S Department of Defense