Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. met with former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief David Petraeus to discuss potential cooperation in defense technology and industry, as well as the evolving nature of modern warfare.
“The meeting explored partnerships and strategic investments to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities and support the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement released Tuesday.
Petraeus is now chairman of leading investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), which has about USD2 billion investments in the Philippines, according to the DND. He and Teodoro met on Monday.
“General Petraeus expressed KKR’s interest in areas aligned with the Philippines’ defense goals and the firm’s global expertise in technology, infrastructure, and industrial development,” the DND said.
Meanwhile, in discussing modern warfare, Teodoro and Petraeus “highlighted the growing need for ‘tomorrow’s technology for today’s war,’ noting that innovation — often driven by current challenges, with Ukraine serving as a model — plays a critical role in shaping outcomes on the battlefield,” the DND said in a separate statement.
The DND said Teodoro emphasized the development of low-cost, asymmetrically and algorithmically designed technologies to enhance operational survivability, and underscored the importance of highly mobile production systems to minimize disruptions in defense materiel manufacturing, ensuring readiness and resilience in critical defense operations.
For his part, Petraeus said that “adaptive military strategies prevail over bigger adversaries.”
He also said flexibility and technological innovation are essential to strengthening the country’s defense capabilities in an increasingly complex security environment.
Petraeus, who held the CIA director post from Sept. 6, 2011 to Nov. 9, 2012 under the Obama administration, served in the US military from 1974 to 2011. He held a number of commands, including the 101st Airborne Division, US Central Command, and United States Forces-Afghanistan, to name a few.
