Keating said the US military is focusing efforts on the defeat of the Abu Sayyaf. A number of US forces are in Mindanao to provide technical assistance in identifying whereabouts of terrorist leaders in the region.

On the possible violation of Philippine sovereignty if they help fight the communists, Keating said: “We’re very careful about sovereignty issue and it is only in response to the Philippine government request that we respond."

The RP-US Mutual Defense Board and Security Exchange Board re-affirmed its commitment under the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty to “defend one another against common threats and we will continue to cooperate in responding to various security concerns in the region."

In the meeting with the US admiral, the President reaffirmed the country’s commitment to its bilateral as well as multilateral obligations in addressing regional security threats.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said the President also thanked the United States for its participation in relief and rescue operations in the disasters that hit the country in the past.

Meanwhile, Malacanang has not included the NPAs in the list of terrorist organizations once R.A 9372 or the Anti-Terrorism law takes effect July 15. This, despite the fact that the United States and the European Union have labeled the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.

Officials said the non-inclusion is meant to encourage the communist National Democratic Front to resume peace talks with the government.

The President also welcomed the Philippine visit of the USS Peleleu, noting that the US ship was the second to arrive in the country on a mercy and goodwill mission.

Before his assignment to the Hawaii-based US Pacific Command, Admiral Keating headed the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the US Northern Command.

At the same time, Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the military establishment is looking forward to trilateral exercises between Filipino, United States and Australian forces in the near future.

“We expect that there will be an expansion from bilateral  activities to multilateral where it is legally permissible," said Esperon in a joint press conference with Admiral Keating.

Filipino and US forces have been jointly training for the past decades, with focus redirected recently on the fight against terrorist organizations, particularly the Abu Sayyaf Group and the Jemaah Islamiyah.

President Arroyo and Australian Prime Minister John Howard signed a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement last month that will govern the conduct of joint military training for the two countries’ military forces. The agreement awaits ratification by the Senate.

“We will do it (trilateral exercises) as addressing security threats cannot be limited to bilateral arrangements. On matters of terrorism for example, that could be global, multilateral. There are benefits in working together because that saves us time and resources," Esperon said.

He said neighbors in the region have been engaging in multilateral exercises with other countries and he sees nothing wrong with the Philippines adopting the same strategy. “In the region, we see a lot of multilateral activities, trainings, exchange of information and we (military establishment) don’t see any reason why we could not go to that direction," he said.