THE Philippines and the European Union yesterday announced the establishment of a security and defense dialogue that will allow the two to discuss emerging threats and security issues, including foreign interference and cyberattacks, in the region.
The announcement came during the two-day visit to Manila of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas for meetings with Foreign Affairs chief Enrique Manalo and a courtesy call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“We hope that through the security and defense dialogue, we will remain proactive and united in addressing emerging security threats and challenges that transcend borders, such as cyberattacks, foreign interference, and manipulation of information, among others,“ Manalo told reporters following a working lunch with Kallas at the Shangri-La, the Fort in Bonifacio Global City.
The security and defense dialogue, according to Manalo, will be part of the partnership and cooperation agreement between Manila and the EU, which entered into force in 2018.
Kallas said the dialogue will also serve as a platform wherein the EU and Manila could “share expertise, deepen defense cooperation, and coordinate joint efforts.”
Kallas reaffirmed the EU’s support for the rule of law in resolving disputes and its rejection of any form of coercion or unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the South China Sea.
The Philippines is engaged in a long-running dispute with China over the waterway through which more than $3 trillion of goods passes annually.
Manila has been complaining about Beijing’s aggressive activities in the disputed waters, including the parts it claims named the West Philippine Sea, despite the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration junking China’s claim to almost the entire sea. China refused to honor or abide by the ruling of the arbitral court.
Aside from the Philippines and China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, and Taiwan are claiming parts of the South China Sea.
“We reject any unilateral changes to the status quo, including use of coercion,” Kallas said in a joint briefing with Manalo.
“We are supporters of partners who are believers in international law,” she added.
She said the EU firmly believes in the supremacy of international law in resolving disputes, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.
Both Manila and Beijing are signatories to UNCLOS.
The inaugural meeting of the dialogue is tentatively set to take place in the last quarter of 2025, said a statement on the meeting between Manalo and Kallas issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
The meeting, it said, “marks a significant milestone in the longstanding partnership between the Philippines and the EU, rooted in shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, anchored in the Philippines-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, as well as the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
It said both sides agreed to enhance their cooperation because of the “growing complexity of security threats.”
“The dialogue addresses the current geopolitical challenges and will foster exchanges and cooperation in security and defense areas, including maritime security, cybersecurity, hybrid threats, foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI),” said Kallas.
Both sides, the DFA said, also agreed to intensify cooperation on climate change and green transition under the Global Gateway Strategy, including through data-sharing under the Copernicus Earth Observation Program and through the Team Europe Initiative on Green Economy, which supports the Philippines’ transition to a circular economy.
