By Manny Mogato MANILA, Nov. 27 (Reuters) - The Philippines and Australia have agreed to expand security relations to allow Australian troops to hold anti-terrorism drills in the troubled south, Manila's defence secretary said on Monday. Avelino Cruz, in his last news conference before leaving the cabinet of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Thursday, also said he wanted another civilian to take over his position and pursue reforms he began, including shielding soldiers from politics. The Philippines is a close ally of the United States, hosting U.S. troops and getting military aid from Washington as it battles Muslim and communist rebel groups. But Manila has sought to expand its security links within Asia, including more cooperation with Australia. "We're ready to initialise the status of visiting forces agreement and endorse it to our governments," Cruz said, adding the pact was similar to status of forces agreements among members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Cruz said the agreement with Australia could also be used as a template for similar arrangements with Southeast Asian states, such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Another defence official said the agreement with Australia would allow combined training exercises and other activities in the southern Philippines. "It's like a basketball game. We need to practise with other players from other teams to learn new skills and techniques to raise the level of our game," said the defence official, who was familiar with the new security agreement. The official said the Australians were also ready to pour in money, materials and training modules to help the Philippines tighten its vast maritime borders to check flow of people, small arms and illegal goods to and from Mindanao island. Canberra was also giving smaller boats to navigate through marshlands in the south, where foreign Islamic militants are suspected of hiding with local Muslim rebels. Cruz said Australia was not seeking a military base to deal with militants from Indonesia but was helping Manila and Jakarta fight the spread of Islamic militancy in Southeast Asia. While the Philippines is keen for outside expertise, its constitution forbids foreign troops from going into combat in the country. The Philippines is due to spend 32 billion pesos ($644 million) over the next five years to upgrade the mobility, communications and firepower of its soldiers. "In three years, we could raise the military's readiness from 45 percent to 70 percent, speeding up the process to defeat the communist insurgency," Cruz said. Cruz resigned on Nov. 5 after a meeting with Arroyo. Before he quit, he was accused by some cabinet members of betraying the president when he did not support her efforts to change the constitution through a public signature campaign. Cruz, a former lawyer to the president, said the hardest thing in government was "to say no to your friends and allies".
