The Philippines and Australia yesterday signed cooperation agreements on maritime domain, cyber and critical technology, as well as on the effective implementation of competition laws and policies of both nations.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his statement following his bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, said the three agreements exchanged during his state visit to Canberra are expected to “enhance information sharing, capability building, and interoperability between our relevant government agencies in the maritime domain and maritime environment, cyber and critical technology, and competition law.”
“The three agreements add to the more than 120 agreements that our two countries have signed through the decades. And these are in various fields, including defense cooperation, air services, education, research, scientific and cultural cooperation, amongst others,” Marcos added.
Under the maritime agreement, the Philippines and Australia are expected to strengthen the civil military cooperation, promote international law and rules-based international order, safeguard the marine environment and cultural heritage, enhance defense engagements, and establish avenues for dialogue among relevant agencies of the two countries.
The memorandum of understanding on cyber and critical technology, meanwhile, allows the two nations to share information and best practices on cyber and critical technology, conducting capacity building, promoting a secured digital economy, and achieving greater understanding of the application of international law norms in cyberspace.
The Prime Minister said the agreement on cyber and critical technology will “harden our resilience against cyber attacks and encourage cooperation on the digital economy.”
The cooperation between Philippines and Australia’s competition commissions aims to enhance the effective implementation of their respective competition laws and policies to strengthen economic relations through the sharing of best practices and the conduct of capacity building on matters involving merger regulations, competition laws, and investigative techniques relevant to implementing competition laws.
The President said the two countries would continue to explore more areas of cooperation that would benefit both countries.
“The Prime Minister and I both agreed to continue to look for ways to explore every option possible, to bring our countries closer than ever and collectively, with optimism and hopeful outlook, to be a force of good, unity, stability, and prosperity in our region,” Marcos added.
The President is set to return late Thursday in Manila.
He will again fly to Australia next week to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Australia Special Summit from Match 4 to 6.