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The Philippines and Germany reached agreement on Sunday on a new defense deal, as Manila seeks to bolster its diplomatic support to counter Beijing’s vast maritime claims in the South China Sea.
The agreement focuses on “mutual understanding regarding capabilities, training [and] information exchange,” said the Philippine defense minister, suggesting that Germany could supply military equipment to the Philippines in the future. Berlin is “strongly opposed” [against] any unilateral attempt to advance expansive claims” in the region, Germany’s defense minister said.
China and the Philippines have argued for months over territory in the South China Sea and the two countries recently signed an “interim agreement” to end hostilities. But Beijing continued to express frustration toward Manila, prompting the Philippine government to turn to Europe and the U.S. for support.
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The German-Philippine defense pact comes as China prepares to appoint a new ambassador to Germany. Whoever Beijing chooses will have to immediately deal with Berlin’s accusations that Beijing coordinated a cyber espionage attack against a federal cartography agency in 2021.
