Philippines and Singapore broaden defense ties with a new agreement

Singapore’s Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen (left) and Philippines’ Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

The Philippines is signing a defense pact with Singapore yesterday that will allow their militaries to broaden their engagement, including holding joint exercises to prepare for humanitarian emergencies and other contingencies, Philippine officials said.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro will sign the Defense Cooperation Agreement with his counterpart in Singapore, two Philippine officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity ahead of the signing. Details of the agreement were not immediately available.

Since territorial hostilities between China and the Philippines surged last year at two hotly disputed shoals in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration has taken steps to forge new security alliances with a number of Asian and Western countries and allowed a U.S. military presence at more Philippine bases under a 2014 defense pact.

In his state of the nation address before the Philippine Congress on Monday, Marcos stressed that the Philippines would not back down in the territorial disputes but stressed his administration would only use peaceful means to resolve any dispute and would build security alliances with friendly countries.

“In the face of challenges to our territorial sovereignty, we will assert our rights and interests in the same fair and pacific way that we have always done,” Marcos said, adding that efforts were continuing “to strengthen our defense posture, both through developing self-reliance and through partnerships with like-minded states.”

Earlier this month, the Philippines and Japan signed a defense pact named the Reciprocal Access Agreement allowing the deployment of their forces in each other’s territory for joint military exercises as both countries face an increasingly assertive China. Japan and the Philippines have separate maritime territorial disputes with China.

The agreement will take effect after it is ratified by the two countries’ legislatures.

The Philippines is holding separate talks with Canada, New Zealand and France on similar defense agreements, the two Philippine officials said.

Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States and their leaders held three-way talks in April at the White House, where President Joe Biden renewed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to defend them. MDT/AP