Philippines, Sweden discuss South China Sea, defense cooperation

MANILA, Philippines — The governments of the Philippines and Sweden discussed security concerns, including tensions in the South China Sea, the Department of National Defense (DND) said Thursday. 

Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Jan Knutsson also discussed climate change, the war in Ukraine and cross-strait tensions with Defense Undersecretary Irineo Espino. 

“Both sides looked forward to developing a long-term bilateral cooperation, underscoring the importance of upholding the rules-based international order and strengthening security ties between like-minded countries,” the DND said. 

During their meeting, Knutsson presented Sweden’s cost-effective military materials and equipment, primarily its aircraft. 

Espino, on the other hand, expressed DND’s openness to explore cooperation in technology transfer as well as research and development. 

The two officials also stressed the urgency of addressing security threats in the continuously evolving cyber domain.

They also discussed the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the acquisition of defense materiel and updates on the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program. 

During the state visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Hanoi early this week, the Philippines and Vietnam signed memoranda of understanding on incident prevention and management in the South China Sea and on cooperation between the two countries’ coast guards. — Gaea Katreena Cabico