Phl eyes defense agreement with Myanmar

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is eyeing a security cooperation agreement with its neighbor Myanmar, the Defense department said Thursday.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin expressed the Philippines’ commitment to boost its security ties with Myanmar during the visit of Myanmar Defense Services chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday.

“We look forward to the possibility of having a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Defense Cooperation with Myanmar, which can serve as a framework to promote defense cooperation between our two countries,” Gazmin said in a statement.

“The MOU will enable us to cooperate in various fields, such as defense dialogues, education, and training exchanges, among others,” he added.

Gazmin also thanked Hliang for the assistance provided by his government to Filipinos hit by typhoon Yolanda, which left at least 6,300 persons dead and close to P90-billion worth of properties damaged.

Gazmin also congratulated Myanmar for hosting the 24th Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit on May 10 and 11 and the 8th ASEAN Defense Minister’s Meeting (ADMM) on May 18 to 22.

“I look forward to visiting Myanmar again for the ADMM retreat in Bagan, Myanmar, on November 18 and 19, 2014,” Gazmin said.

Diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Myanmar were established in 1956.

President Aquino and Myanmar President U Thein Sein last year signed six agreements on information cooperation, visa exemption for holder of ordinary passports, renewable energy, agricultural cooperation, trade and investments.

There are close to 600 Filipinos in Myanmar as of last year.