Philippines, South Korea elevate ties to strategic partnership, deepen Coast Guard cooperation
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and South Korea have elevated their relations to a strategic partnership and agreed to boost maritime cooperation between the two countries' Coast Guard forces.
The agreement upgrading the Philippines and South Korea's ties were signed after talks between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Malacañang Palace on Monday, October 7.
A strategic partnership is generally seen as the highest level of bilateral relations that two nations can have and signals nations' intent to develop long-term relations. The Philippines maintains these ties with Japan, Vietnam and, most recently, Australia.
In a joint press conference with Yoon, Marcos described the elevated ties between the two nations as taking place amid an "increasingly complex geopolitical and economic environment."
"We agreed that we have made significant strides in advancing and deepening our bilateral cooperation towards the attainment of our mutually beneficial goals," he said.
Besides discussions on defense, maritime and economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, both leaders also spoke about the West Philippine Sea and the geopolitical situation of the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders also agreed to uphold an international rules-based order, including on safety of navigation in the South China Sea.
Of the six new deals signed between the Philippines and South Korea after Yoon's talks with Marcos, one of the most important geopolitically may be a new memorandum of understanding that establishes closer cooperation between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Korean Coast Guard.
Marcos said the Coast Guard agreement was forged to "strengthen understanding, mutual trust, and confidence, and for the purpose of the promotion, preservation, and protection of our mutual maritime interests, including maritime order and safety in the Asia-Pacific region."
This year, escalating hostilities between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea have drawn repeated expressions of concern from South Korea over actions that heighten tensions in the disputed waters.
In August, Chinese vessels' interference with a humanitarian mission for Filipino fishers prompted South Korea and two other foreign powers to urge China to uphold a rules-based order and the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The Philippines and South Korea have also signed a new agreement on a feasibility study for the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant — a nuclear power facility built under ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. that was mothballed due to safety concerns and issues of corruption behind its creation.
Citing the findings of the Commission on Nuclear Reactor Plants, the elder Marcos admitted that the nuclear facility "is not safe" and that it poses "a potential hazard to the health and safety of the public," according to a letter of instruction he signed in 1979.
The younger Marcos on Monday justified the new agreement covering the feasibility study on the power plant, saying it will be carried out with South Korea's "successful experience in the nuclear industry." The president said this will "contribute to energy security in the country."
Other agreements signed between the Philippines and South Korea are a memorandum of understanding on advancing national, regional, and urban development in the Philippines; a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of supply chains for critical raw materials and implementing programs between the two countries' tourism departments.
The two countries have also signed the loan agreements on the Samar Coastal Road II Project, and the memorandum of understanding on the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project (Phase I) and the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project.
In September, Korean Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa said South Korea's defense ministry is "giving a thought" to a potential visiting forces agreement with the Philippines, but clarified that no concrete steps have been taken yet.
The Philippines was the first Southeast Asian nation to forge diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1949.
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