Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last month appointed Lieutenant General Antonio Nafarrete as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Nafarrete, who previously commanded the Philippine Army after leading the 1st and 6th Infantry Divisions in Mindanao in the southern Philippines, now takes the helm of the country’s land, air and naval forces.
Replacing military chief Romeo Brawner Jr., whose tenure lasted for three years, Nafarrete assumes command at a pivotal moment, as the island nation navigates intensifying geopolitical tensions abroad and security demands at home. Nafarrete’s task will be to implement and operationalise the administration’s evolving defence policies of transforming to a truly archipelagic defence.
For decades, the Philippine military’s gaze was turned relentlessly inward, bogged down in protracted counter-insurgency against Maoist rebels across the country’s rural areas and separatists in the southern jungles of Mindanao. The campaign against communist rebels continues, but the insurgents are now firmly on the backfoot as the guerrillas struggle(Opens in new window) to replenish their ranks with new cadres and push back militarily. Meanwhile, the peace process between Manila and former rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) remains fragile but still intact.
Nafarrete’s background as an experienced commander in the southern provinces of Lanao and Maguindanao, and his familiarity with the peace process (including ceasefire arrangements with the MILF), is, without doubt, a positive sign.
Between highlands and the high sea: What awaits the next Philippine military chief? | Lowy Institute
(fonte: Georgi Engelbrecht – Lowy The Interpreter)
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