Manila: The Philippines and Germany have formally agreed to deepen their defence cooperation as Manila continues to expand its network of international security alliances in response to ongoing tensions with China in the South China Sea.
Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius signed a new agreement on Wednesday in Berlin, broadening military collaboration to include cyber security, defence technology and logistics, and participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations, according to a statement from the Philippine defence ministry on Thursday.
The agreement builds on commitments made during Pistorius’ visit to the Philippines last year, when both nations pledged to strengthen their long-term defence relationship.
Germany now joins a growing list of partners with whom the Philippines is building strategic military ties beyond its longstanding alliance with the United States. In recent months, Manila has also secured a defence pact with New Zealand, is finalizing a similar agreement with Canada, and ratified a reciprocal access deal with Japan late last year. Additionally, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has given the green light to begin negotiations with France on a visiting forces agreement.
The ramping up of defence partnerships comes amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea, where China asserts sweeping territorial claims that overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. Despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that invalidated Beijing’s claims, China has rejected the decision and continued its assertive actions in the region.
During a visit to Manila in August 2024, Pistorius reaffirmed Germany’s support for the 2016 ruling, stating it “remains valid, without any exceptions.” Germany has also shown its commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, with two of its naval vessels conducting a rare transit through the region in September last year.
