The agreement was reached at a closed-door meeting between TNI Chief Admiral Agus Suhartono and his Philippine counterpart General Ricardo A. David Jr. AFP here on Monday.
At the meeting, the two military leaders discussed a wide range of issues related to close cooperation the two neighboring countries had forged since a long time ago, spokesman for the TNI Headquarters Col. Minulyo Suprapto said.
"The militaries of the two countries have for a long time forged close cooperation in the fields of education and training. Especially for non-war military operations, the two militaries also have established cooperation to fight against terrorism," he said.
A number of Indonesian citizens allegedly received military exercises in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao some time ago.
In addition, a number of weapons obtained by separatist movements in Indonesia were also believed to have been smuggled into the country via the Philippines.
In this respect, the militaries of the two countries had jointly stepped up security around their state borders.
"The joint exercise will also involve other ASEAN member states to train their soldiers in mitigating natural disasters," he said.
Both Indonesia and the Philippines are located on the Pacific ring of fire, which makes them vulnerable to earthquakes. Hence, the effort to train the two countries` soldiers in mitigating natural disasters was badly needed, he said. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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