PH, Germany ink defense cooperation deal

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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Germany on Wednesday, May 14 signed a defense cooperation agreement on the sidelines of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting in Berlin, the Department of National Defense (DND) said in a release. 

The DND did not release details of the agreement for the two countries’ defense chiefs — Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius — who will be convening the 3rd Philippines-Germany Security and Defense Staff Talks to “review and concretize proposed joint activities and initiatives to be implemented under the said arrangement in the coming year.” 

The agreement follows Pistorius’ visit to Manila in August 2024 and a mutual agreement to “pursue an overarching framework to advance bilateral defense partnership.” 

Under President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, the Philippines has quickly expanded its network of partners with whom it has political, defense, or security agreements with. The efforts come alongside the Philippines’ push to defend its entitlements and claims in the West Philippine Sea, or an area in the South China Sea that includes its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

Manila has also been pivoting to external and territorial defense in the face of a China that claims practically all of the South China Sea. 

Under the Marcos administration, the Philippines has gained two new strategic partners in Australia and South Korea. It has also signed two new visiting forces agreements, first with Japan and New Zealand. Negotiations for a visiting forces agreement with Canada were concluded in February. France has also proposed a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines. 

China’s claims in the South China Sea has meant, for the Philippines as well as other claimants in the South China Sea, harassment from Chinese maritime forces. The Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and Filipino fisherfolk have been subjected to harassment in the form of dangerous maneuvers, use of water cannons, or the denial of access to certain areas in the West Philippine Sea. – Rappler.com