Philippines, Germany Agree to Complete Broad Defense Arrangement

By Cecilia Yap

Published: August 04, 2024 at 3:30AM EDT

SOUTH CHINA SEA - MARCH 04: A U.S. Navy ship is seen as Philippine ships conduct a resupply mission to troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal, on March 04, 2024 in the South China Sea. Philippine and Chinese vessels collided in the high seas, leaving four Filipinos with minor injuries after a supply vessel's windshield was shattered by water cannons, the Philippines said. The incidents happened as the Philippines was conducting a routine resupply mission to troops stationed aboard BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded Navy ship that serves as the country's outpost in Second Thomas Shoal (locally called Ayungin Shoal). (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images) Photographer: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images AsiaPac (Ezra Acayan/Photographer: Ezra Acayan/Getty )

(Bloomberg) -- Germany and the Philippines said they have agreed to push for a broad arrangement on defense cooperation.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius met in Manila on Sunday, where they committed “to establish long term relations between the armed forces and specifically to expand training cooperation and bilateral exchanges,” according to a joint statement released after the meeting.

Both officials expressed commitment to freedom of navigation, overflight and other peaceful uses of the seas consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. They also reaffirmed the 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea, which voided China’s sweeping maritime claims, is “final and legally binding,” according to the statement.

--With assistance from Cliff Venzon.