Philippines and Korea to deepen defense ties, says envoy

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Philippines and Korea to deepen defense ties, says envoy

Ambassador Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega of the Philippines speaks during an interview with Korea Joongang Daily at the country's embassy in Yongsan District, central Seoul on Tuesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Ambassador Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega of the Philippines speaks during an interview with Korea Joongang Daily at the country's embassy in Yongsan District, central Seoul on Tuesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

 
As the Philippines grapples with evolving regional defense needs and the rise of non-traditional threats in the form of climate change and cybercrime, the Southeast Asian country looks to deepen its cooperation with Korea to enhance its defense and security, said the Philippines' envoy to Korea.
 
A week after the Philippine Embassy in Seoul hosted its first in-person celebration of the country's Independence Day since the Covid-19 pandemic began, Ambassador Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega sat down with the Korea Joongang Daily at the embassy on Tuesday to discuss the state of defense cooperation between Korea and the Philippines, and also Korea's role in the Philippine military's ongoing modernization program.
 
"Defense and security is a very important aspect of our relationship, but that bond has deepened and matured as we've expanded our cooperation," she said.
 
Some of that expanding cooperation includes Philippine orders for Korean defense products, which are being watched closely after Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup met with Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana in Seoul on June 3 for talks on arms industry cooperation.
 
The ambassador also spoke about the Philippines' maturing security relationships with Korea and the United States, and the country's increased multilateral participation in forums dealing with non-traditional threats such as climate change and cybersecurity.
 
The following are edited excerpts of the interview.
 
Q. How did the friendship between the Philippines and Korea begin, and what role have defense affairs historically played in this rapport?
 
A. The Philippines was one of the first countries to recognize the Republic of Korea as an independent state, and also one of the first to send troops to Korea during the war. We sent five battalion combat teams (BCTs), the first of which landed in Busan in September 1950. Our deployment here was the eighth international force under the United Nations command to arrive, and the last Philippine soldiers left Korea in May 1955.  
 
Of the 7,420 soldiers who fought in the Korean War, 116 were killed, 299 were wounded, 57 went missing and 41 were repatriated to the Philippines via prisoner-of-war exchanges.  
 
The shared sacrifices of the war are celebrated every year, especially during the month of June when commemorative events for the Korean War take place and include international partners who helped Korea under the auspices of the United Nations command. So [defense and security] are at the very heart of our relationship.
 
Q. Like Korea today, the Philippines once hosted U.S. military forces on its soil. How has the Philippines adapted following their departure in 1992?
 
A. With the closure of the U.S. bases and facilities in the Philippines, the Philippines has shored up our defense and security relations outside the 1951 mutual defense treaty we have with the United States, even though it remains central in our general defense relations.  
 
Since the closure of U.S. military facilities, we have signed and completed an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with Korea, which not only bolster our defense cooperation with the United States but also address emerging security challenges.  
 
At the same time, our relationship with the United States has matured and we pay more attention to all of the aspects of our relationship, and not just defense and security.  
 
On the occasion of the bilateral security dialogue between the Philippines and the United States in 2021, our two countries issued a joint vision on our 21st century partnership, the main highlights of which were defense, shared values such as democracy, human rights, commitment to international order and rule of law, shared prosperity and responsibility for the planet. We also addressed the further development of our relationship in terms of trade and cultural and educational exchanges.
 
Q. What are some common regional interests and security challenges facing the Philippines and Korea? Where do you think Korea fits into the security framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)?
 
A. We share a region and we share the same neighborhood. I always say that you can't change geography, so whatever the conditions are, and whatever changes are taking place, we need to adapt and be strategic in our approaches to them.  
 
We share major security concerns with Korea — the situation on the Korean Peninsula is a concern for the Philippines, as it is for the rest of the region and ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole.  
 
The overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea and in the western Philippine Sea also remain a security concern. Even for many of the countries that are not claimants of territory in that region, it is a prominent international passage route for commerce and goods. We've always believed in unimpeded lawful commerce and other lawful uses of the seas, so these are our common concerns with Korea.
 
There are also concerns about cybersecurity in the region and other non-traditional threats as well, such as health security concerns, which affect the mobility of people, exchanges and interactions, and I think Korea has a very important role to play in that regard.  
 
Korea is currently co-chairing with Malaysia the cybersecurity experts working group with the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus. With the technological know-how and advanced systems that Korea has been able to develop, there's a lot of scope for Korea to contribute positively to beefing up our regional cybersecurity and addressing growing environmental threats.  
 
We are also working very hard to realize a Philippines-Korea maritime cooperation dialogue, and one of the areas we'd like to tackle together is ocean conservation and solving problems such as overfishing and other unsustainable methods of conducting commerce and trade with relation to aquatic life. Korea has been quite active along with our other partners in addressing these concerns.
 
Q. In what ways have the Philippines and Korea committed to expanding their cooperation?  
 
A. The Philippines and Korea signed a mutual defense cooperation agreement in 2013, and we've also signed two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on defense and logistics cooperation in 1994 and 2009.  
 
The first joint defense committee meeting between the Philippines and Korea took place in 2020 under virtual circumstances, and hopefully we'll be able to hold the second one with an in-person event.  
 
A further manifestation of the maturity and depth of our relationship is the fact we've spun off into a focus on smaller platforms. In 2021, we signed Terms of Reference setting up a Technical Working Group between the Republic of Korea Army and Philippine Army, and they're set to convene their first meeting hopefully before the end of the year.  
 
Q. Are there any joint defense projects where Korea and the Philippines are currently discussing technical collaboration or technological assistance?
 
A. I'm not privy to the exact details on ongoing discussions, but certainly Korea has been one of our most active engaged partners in terms of our defense modernization program. We are now about to conclude the second out of three Horizon phases in our modernization program, and quite a significant portion of the Horizon 2 defense modernization program has actually come from Korea.
 
In 2020 and 2021, Korea delivered two multi-mission frigates to Philippines that were constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries. These are two of the largest naval assets that we have, and prior to that, we also acquired Pohang-class corvettes from Korea. We also signed a contract late last year with Korea to acquire yet another two corvettes for the Philippine Navy to help enhance our maritime security capabilities.  
 
Korea has been a very active and attractive defense acquisition partner, especially where fighter planes, troop carrier vehicles and naval assets are concerned. I believe there will be more partnerships and acquisitions down the road. The Philippine defense establishment is quite happy with the products and the overall efficiency of their delivery. We're also looking at other defense products from Korea down the pipeline, though the specifics are currently under discussion.
 
Q. Why is Korea an attractive defense acquisition partner?
 
A. According to our defense people, Korean products are distinguished by their advanced technology, the efficiency of their delivery, and the attendant customer-client services and training for military personnel who will be operating the products, such as the multi-mission frigates.
 
Now that we have the two frigates and the Pohang-class corvettes, the ability of the Philippines to join patrols and naval exercises is enhanced. The Philippines and Korea are both participating at a much more visible and engaged level at this year's Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac) exercises than in previous years, so the results of this defense acquisition program are significant. Not only are we enhancing national security and protecting our own, but we're also able to contribute to regional peace and stability.
 
Q. Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup recently held talks in Seoul with Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana. Are you able to tell us what came of those talks?
 
A. The two defense chiefs had a very engaged and active discussion where they agreed to continue high-level exchanges and to get previously agreed-upon Vice Ministerial Defense Meeting with ASEAN now that the pandemic-related restrictions have been eased.  
 
They also agreed to expand the exchange of military personnel and further advance this program to better understand both countries' defense systems. Currently there are about 20 Philippine military officers undertaking various types of training and courses, and there are three Korean military officers who are taking a command general staff course in the Philippines.  
 
The Philippines has also committed to being an active participant in the Seoul Defense Dialogue. We also have the Asian Defense and Security (ADAS) conference, which is a defense and climate security crisis management gathering held annually in the Philippines. Korea is a very active participant – actually, there was a very large Korean delegation at ADAS 2022. They also agreed to continue ongoing intelligence exchanges between our two countries.
 

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
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