SOUTH Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will be returning to Seoul, ending his two-day state visit to the Philippines, with a report to his constituents that he has scaled up his country’s friendly relationship with the Philippines to the level of “strategic partnership.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself is proud of this development, as he enthused that, “Our decades of cordial relations have developed into a comprehensive partnership that spans political, defense, economic, socio-cultural, maritime, and many other fields, across various levels of engagement.’’
He continued: ‘’And today, I am pleased to announce that the Philippines and the Republic of Korea have formally elevated our relations to a Strategic Partnership, adding further impetus to the strengthening and deepening of our cooperation in an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic environment.’’
‘In fine, the state visit of President Yoon is expected to spawn positive results for both countries.’
With South Korea firmly aligned with the United States and is still technically at war with North Korea, Marcos finds a close friend and ally in President Yoon, and the two leaders unabashedly found themselves on the same page when they discussed regional and international matters, particularly issues in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula.
Both leaders were one in supporting peace and stability in the Southeast and East Asian regions, particularly the Korean Peninsula, and professed the same adherence to the US narrative of a rules-based behavior in the two regions’ international waters.
This led to an easy acceptance on both sides of a maritime cooperation agreement that was signed between the two countries on the first day of President Yoon’s visit, with the objective that the deal would promote order and safety in the Asia-Pacific region.
Marcos gladly disclosed that they have signed the “Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Korea Coast Guard on Maritime Cooperation’’ to strengthen understanding, mutual trust, and confidence, and for the purpose of the promotion, preservation, and protection of our mutual maritime interests, including maritime order and safety in the Asia-Pacific region.
With this accord, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) may rightfully expect assistance and support from the Korea Coast Guard in future confrontations with vessels of the Chinese Coast Guard which have been actively shooing away Filipino fishermen and PCG boats in areas of the South China Sea that it claims.
There are other concrete results of the Yoon visit. First, his assurance that Seoul will actively help in the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), as its defense industry will participate in the Rehorizoned 3 Phase of the AFP modernization. Second, the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the feasibility study of saving and operationalizing the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which will be undertaken by a Korean energy company.
The two countries will also reinforce security partnership when it comes to addressing transnational crimes, information sharing and rescue missions. Other programs and projects reviewed are the Economic Innovation Partnership Program, Strategic Cooperation on Critical Raw Material Supply Chains, Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project and Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project, and more government-to-government tourism projects.
In fine, the state visit of President Yoon is expected to spawn positive results for both countries.
