The Philippines and Germany on Sunday 4 August 2024 committed to signing a defense cooperation arrangement this year, vowing to stand for the international rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.
German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro committed to establishing long-term relations between their armed forces to expand training and bilateral exchanges, explore opportunities to expand bilateral armaments cooperation and engage in joint projects.
The two met in Manila during the first such visit by a German defense minister, as their countries mark 70 years of diplomatic relations.
Teodoro said the Philippines would be “looking to engage Germany as a possible supplier” to modernize its defense capabilities against external threats.
The two would never have met if tensions have not flared in the past few months between China and the Philippines over disputed areas of the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including areas claimed as exclusive economic zones by other nations.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said Beijing’s claims had no legal basis. China rejects that decision.
“This ruling remains valid, without any exceptions,” Pistorius said. “It is our obligation to strengthen the maritime border and we are living up to it.”
The South China Sea is a vital trade route with more than US$3 trillion in ship-borne trade passing through it every year.
Teodoro said the Philippines was not provoking China and did not seek war, but reiterated Manila’s stance that the only cause of conflict in the waterway “is China’s illegal and unilateral attempt to appropriate most if not all of the South China Sea.”
Source: Reuters
