Germany, Philippines agree to broaden defense cooperation

The Philippines and Germany agreed on Sunday to broaden security and training cooperation as the Southeast Asian archipelagic nation faces rising territorial pressures from China in contested waters.

The two nations announced they were committing to a broader pact after their defense chiefs met in the Philippine capital for bilateral talks. They made the announcements days after the Philippines held separate joint sails with the United States and Japan in Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. 

A joint statement issued after the meeting between Filipino defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, said both officials discussed “trends in the security environment and exchange[d] views on regional issues” specifically relating to the disputed waterway.

“The ministers strongly opposed any unilateral attempt to advance expansive claims, especially through force of coercion,” said the statement, which did not specifically mention China. Both ministers also expressed their “staunch commitment to freedom of navigation, overflight and other peaceful uses of the seas” consistent with international commitments.

Teodoro and Pistorius “committed to conclude a broader Arrangement on Defense Cooperation, which will expand the scope of mutually beneficial cooperation between the Philippines and Germany.” The deal will likely be signed by October, both sides said.

The ministers reaffirmed that an international arbitration award given to the Philippines in 2016 was final and legally binding, the statement said.

“All countries must be able to enjoy freedom of navigation, regardless of the economic strength or geographic size. This is what we stand up for together with our partners. And this is how we can guarantee stability and security,” Pistorius told a press briefing.

“We are well aware that the Philippines as a country bordering the South China Sea depends strongly on all partners adhering to international law,” he said, stressing that the arbitral ruling “remains valid without any exceptions.”

He said that international allies “need to contribute to the de-escalation” of tensions in the maritime region, and urged that communications channels with Beijing must remain open.

Pistorius’ visit was the first by a German defense minister, and comes as the Philippines has been working to shore up international support against China over its expansive claims in the sea region.

“[D]efense cooperation is more than armament cooperation. So we talked a lot this morning about cooperation with regard to training, training officers, training staff and so on. This is crucial for us firstly, I think to start again, to continue and to increase the numbers,” the German defense chief said.

Teodoro, for his part, blamed China as the “only one cause of conflict in the South China Sea.” He said Beijing’s claims to the entire sea region based on historical claims was “nebulous.”

“They always claim they have indisputable sovereignty and jurisdiction over all these areas against all the norms of international law,” Teodoro said. 

China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes each year, putting it at odds with the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Taiwan, which all have territorial claims in the waterway.

On June 17, Filipino officials said China Coast Guard personnel, armed with pikes and machetes, punctured Philippine boats and seized firearms during a resupply mission to an outpost on Second Thomas (Ayungin) Shoal. One Filipino sailor lost a finger in the clash, the third such encounter this year in which Philippine personnel have been hurt.

The Philippines maintains an old, rusting World War II-era ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, in Second Thomas (Ayungin) Shoal, to serve as its military outpost in the disputed South China Sea reef.

To stop the incident from deteriorating, the Philippines and China subsequently agreed to “de-escalate” tensions surrounding rotation and resupply missions in Ayungin.