Philippines told to boost defense relations with UK
By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES and the United Kingdom (UK) should improve defense and security cooperation, political analysts said on Sunday after the visit of a high-ranking British envoy at the weekend.
“London and Manila can focus on police and military educational exchanges,” Chester B. Cabalza, founding president of Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “The UK has a lot to offer when it comes to intelligence system, military modernization and people-to-people engagement.”
Mr. Cabalza added that the UK and the Philippines could improve their defense partnership through a visiting forces agreement as part of “their efforts to cement their presence in the Indo-Pacific region.”
“The two countries may opt to focus on bolstering their existing strategic partnerships on key issues, which include defense, maritime affairs and climate action,” Josue Raphael J. Cortez, who teaches diplomacy at De La Salle College of St. Benilde, said in via Messenger chat.
“These facets are among those that our country needs support amid our maritime tensions with China and the fact that the negative repercussions of climate change today have been more pronounced,” he added.
The Philippines has sought defense pacts with like-minded nations like the US, Japan and Canada amid more serious encounters with China in the South China Sea, where they have competing claims.
Manila and Beijing have repeatedly clashed in the in the South China, with both sides accusing each other of raising tensions.
China claims more than 80% of the disputed waterway, that a United Nations-backed tribunal based in The Hague rejected in 2016 for being illegal.
The sea is a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, putting it at odds with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Hansley A. Juliano a political science professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, said the Philippines and the UK should expand their “cultural or educational exchange and trade reorientation.”
He added that continuing military exercises and partnerships with the Philippines would be mutually beneficial.
“The UK could also bolster the engagement of fellow Commonwealth nations like Australia, especially since Australia is closer to us geographically,” Mr. Juliano said.
UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs David Lammy during his visit to Manila at the weekend signed the Philippines-UK joint framework alongside Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo.
The agreement seeks to enhance both countries’ partnerships in defense and security, human rights, maritime and economic resilience.
The pact is “envisioned to chart the depth and direction of our Enhanced Partnership across various areas in the years ahead,” Mr. Manalo said at a signing ceremony on Saturday.
In 2021, the Philippines and the UK signed their Enhanced Partnership, which has so far achieved £2.9 billion (P214.4 billion) in bilateral trade.
“We are working on a number of proposed agreements such as an implementing arrangement under our 2024 memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation, and an MOU on information-sharing concerning improving our maritime domain awareness,” he added.
Last year, the Philippines and the UK agreed craft a framework for defense and security cooperation. The agreement includes training and capacity-building, peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, weapons, as well as research and technology.
He added that Manila and London had also agreed to continue joint military exercises and maritime patrols, including port calls by British ships.
“We’re charting a new course for our relationship amidst a lot of global volatility, and we must strengthen ties with like-minded partners like the Philippines,” Mr. Lammy said at the same event.
He also met with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr.
