Philippines, Germany eye cyber, maritime defense cooperation

BERLIN – The Philippines and Germany are eyeing to expand their defense cooperation to include cyber and maritime domains, President Marcos said, in light of China’s continued dangerous maneuvers and harassment of Filipino supply vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

At a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz following their meeting at the Chancellery on Tuesday, Marcos said he discussed with his counterpart the importance of advancing peace and development in the Philippines.

“I am heartened by Germany’s increased interest in enhancing maritime cooperation between our two countries, and I welcome more initiatives to enrich this relationship,” the President said.

He said Germany has been providing training for personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines since 1974, making it the second oldest formal defense partner of the Philippines.

“And I expressed the Philippine government’s openness to discussions on cooperation that go beyond training and into new areas such as cyber and maritime domains,” Marcos said.

The President said he expressed the country’s appreciation for Germany’s continuous support for capacity-building of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Germany committed to provide the PCG with additional drones to be used for operations in the WPS during German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s visit to the Philippines in January.

The two countries also reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based order and international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Scholz, for his part, stressed the need for parties to respect and adhere to international law that governs international navigation.

“Respect for international law is of greatest importance to us and this is equally true for international law that governs international navigation,” he said.

“We have the UNCLOS, we have the arbitral tribunal. I believe it to be very important to the legislation in place,” Scholz said, referring to the Philippines’ 2016 legal victory over China in the West Philippine Sea.

“We support the Philippines in ensuring that rights are protected,” the German official said.

Marcos said the two countries