MANILA: The Philippines and Australia shored up their security and economic alliance Friday with the inking of a strategic partnership, as they try to counter China’s growing regional influence.
The deal was finalised following a meeting between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in Manila.
Albanese’s trip, which marks the first bilateral meeting with an Australian prime minister in Manila in twenty years, follows a series of visits by senior members of his government to the archipelago country since Marcos took office last year.
Under a strategic partnership, the nations will seek to expand cooperation in several fields from defence and security to education and climate change, AFP reported.
Albanese told diplomats, officials, and reporters after the two leaders inked the accord that this elevation is an important symbol of the strength of bilateral relationship and shared commitment to do more together.
Beijing’s growing assertiveness on Taiwan and the militarisation of the disputed South China Sea’s artificial islands have spurred Canberra, as well as Washington, to expand defence cooperation with longstanding ally Manila.
At the start of the meeting, Marcos thanked Australian PM for his “strong support” for the Philippines as it tries to fend off maritime claims that are “not valid”, in a thinly veiled reference to Beijing.
Marcos told Albanese that to have friends like you and partners like you, particularly on that subject is very gratifying and encourages us to continue down that path.
Albanese described the two nations as “great friends” and hoped that his trip would help take ties “to an even higher level”.
A strategic partnership is the highest level of bilateral relations that Canberra has had with the Manila.
Beijing claims almost the whole South China Sea, ignoring an international verdict that its stance has no legal basis.
The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei have overlapping claims to areas of it.
Philippines’ changing stance
Philippine ex-president Rodrigo Duterte pivoted away from his nation’s traditional security partners towards Beijing, but the Marcos administration has tried to reverse that stance.
Australian and Filipino forces last month held a major joint drill near the contested waters.
The event was watched by Marcos, his defence chief Gilberto Teodoro and Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles.
At the time, Marcos lauded the exercises as “an important aspect of how we prepare for any eventuality”.
Those drills came after a Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands was blocked by Beijing’s Coast Guard vessels using water cannon on 5 August, triggering a diplomatic conflict and international outrage.
Among other deals inked during Friday’s meeting was a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for reciprocal work and holiday visas.
