P-Noy seeks S. Korea's assistance to upgrade AFP

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino sought yesterday the assistance of Korean President Lee Myung-bak in continuing the upgrade of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) beyond the allotted P10-billion modernization fund.

“On defense cooperation, I expressed to President Lee the interest of the Philippines to gain some specific defense articles, such as military-grade helicopters, boats and aircraft,” Aquino, who hosted the state visit of the foreign leader, told the media.

“This is in consonance with the upgrading and modernization of the AFP,” he said.

Both countries – the Philippines and the Republic of Korea – also signed five agreements that will further enhance their bilateral relations on trade, agriculture, labor, power and development assistance or foreign aid.

According to Aquino, Korea is the country’s fifth largest trade partner, with trade value reaching $6 billion in 2010. Koreans are also the third top investor in the Philippines, with recorded $691.3 million in the same year.

This only shows that Koreans in general, particularly their business sector, “have continued to display confidence in the economic prospects and opportunities found in the Philippines.”

“For this, I thanked them (Korean government),” Aquino said.

For his part, President Lee thanked Aquino for “providing protection” to Korean tourists and those who have decided to settle here, since such measures would lead to “better cooperation in tourism and education and overall friendship and partnership as well.”

“I hope that my visit to the Philippines will be another auspicious start to further strengthening our partnership and friendship between our two countries,” the foreign head of state said.

Both countries signed two pacts that would provide a mechanism for the Philippines to avail of a maximum $500 million in “soft loans” from 2011 to 2013 from Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and a framework for a “grant aid” until 2016.

“We believe that this will become firm foundations for acting as a compass towards mutual cooperation in the economic field and I believe our bilateral relationship and economic partnership will be further strengthened,” Lee said, referring to EDCF.

Aquino also thanked his counterpart in the memorandum of understanding they signed, where both parties would enhance their “agricultural cooperation” and in the process help the Philippines achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2013.

Aquino said there is a Public-Private Partnership project where “multi-industry clusters” help achieve “food security and create new jobs in the agricultural sector of the Philippines and Korea.”

Another MOU Aquino cited was the Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project, where the irrigation system in Iloilo would be improved for purposes of “generating power and providing a reliable supply of water to its residents.”

President Aquino revealed that President Lee – by way of another MOU – vowed to help the Philippine government “address the increasing power demand in Luzon in the coming years.”

At the same time, Aquino expressed gratitude to Lee for taking care of some 20,000 Filipinos working in Korea, whose “exemplary workforce program” Employment Permit System (EPS), earned the coveted UN Public Service award last June.

“The Philippines has highly skilled labor force and abundance of natural resources, and so the potential, I must say, is limitless. So in that regard, the cooperation between Korea and the Philippines is also limitless as well,” President Lee acknowledged.

Aquino also took the opportunity to welcome Koreans who visit, study and choose to reside permanently in the country, noting that Korea “remains the number one source of foreign tourists to the Philippines” with arrivals reaching 740,000 in 2010.

“We now host more than 115,000 Koreans who have taken up permanent residence in the Philippines,” he said proudly. “This is a clear indication of the pleasant and comfortable living and working environments, which we are constantly striving to improve.”

The bilateral relationship between the Republic of Korea and the Philippines was formally established in 1949.

Friendship between the two countries was reinforced by the deployment of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea in September 1950.

The Philippine troops joined the United States-led, 16-nation coalition in defending the Republic of Korea against the communist Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.