The Philippines and Sweden agreed on Thursday to deepen defense cooperation as both countries confront increasingly complex maritime security challenges, identifying maritime surveillance, cybersecurity, civil defense, space, defense innovation, and information sharing as key areas for collaboration.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said Manila and Stockholm, despite being in different regions, share a common interest in upholding international law, freedom of navigation, and a rules-based international order.
Jonson said his three-day visit to the Philippines, which included visits to the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), gave him a better understanding of the security dynamics in the West Philippine Sea. […]
According to Jonson, Manila and Stockholm will now focus on implementing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation signed during the 2023 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
“I see a lot of potential that we could deepen cooperation when it comes to exchange of information on maritime issues, on maritime surveillance. I see there’s a great avenue on cybersecurity. We also discussed matters on space, which we both have emerging capabilities; hybrid threats, which I think is very important; and defense innovation technology, which is something Sweden is very engaged into,” Jonson said.
For his part, Teodoro announced that the Philippines is close to posting its first defense attaché and staff to Sweden. Läs artikel
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