MANILA, Philippines – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense of Australia Richard Marles is set to visit the Philippines and Malaysia this week, to further strengthen its defense ties in the region.
According to a media statement from the Australian Embassy, Minister Marles is set to meet the Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. in Manila for the 2nd Australia-Philippines Defense Ministers’ Meeting.
“I look forward to meeting Secretary Teodoro in Manila to discuss ways to deepen Australia-Philippines defence cooperation; by building capacity and strengthening interoperability,” Marles said.
He is also scheduled to visit Australian personnel taking party in Exercise Alon 25, Australia’s largest overseas joint training activity this year.
Marles also underscored Australia and the Philippines’ cooperation in ensuring peace and prosperity in the region, amidst growing tensions in contested areas in the South China Sea.
“Our cooperation through Exercise Alon reflects a shared commitment to working together to maintain a peaceful, secure and prosperous region where sovereignty is respected,” Marles stated.
Australia’s defence engagement with the Philippines is underpinned by an Enhanced Defence Cooperation Program (E-DCP), with key pillars of maritime security and counter-terrorism (CT), in addition to training and education, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and Gender, Peace and Security, according to the Australian Embassy in the Philippines.
According to the Embassy, defence engagement occurs under the provisions of the longstanding MOU on Defence Cooperation (1995) and the Australia-Philippines Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (2012), offering a comprehensive legal and operational framework for defence cooperation.
In 2022, Defence concluded two additional frameworks to strengthen cooperation: a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement and an MOU on Defence Industry Cooperation and Logistics.
The bilateral relationship is shaped and reinforced via the annual Joint Defence Cooperation Committee, a subordinate Defence Cooperation Working Group, and service staff talks.
Defence, along with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, also engages in the biennial Philippine-Australia Strategic Dialogue, with counterpart government agencies from the Philippines, according to the Australian Embassy website.
