Teodoro, ex-CIA chief Petraeus meet, discuss possible collab

By Priam Nepomuceno, Philippine News Agency

MODERN WARFARE. Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (right) with retired US Army general and former Central Intelligence Agency chief David Petraeus following their meeting at the DND main office in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Monday (Nov. 3, 2025). The DND said the two exchanged views regarding the evolving nature of modern warfare and discussed potential collaboration in defense technology and industry. (Photo: Department of National Defense – Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has met with former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief David Petraeus and discussed possible collaboration as well as the evolving nature of modern warfare.

In a social media post late Monday, the DND said the two discussed potential collaboration in defense technology and industry.

“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,” it said.

Petraeus is now chair of leading investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), which has about USD2 billion investments in the Philippines, according to the DND.

“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 on Tuesday.

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, was in the US military from 1974 to 2011 where he held a number of commands, including the 101st Airborne Division, US Central Command, and United States Forces-Afghanistan, to name a few.