PH, Germany eye finalization of ‘broader’ defense agreement

Manila Bulletin

The defense departments of the Philippines and Germany committed to conclude a “broader” defense agreement “within this year” as both countries expressed a united stand to resist “unlawful” actions by China in the South China Sea, top defense officials from the two countries said on Sunday, Aug. 4.  READ MORE: https://mb.com.ph/2024/8/4/ph-germany-eye-finalization-of-broader-defense-agreement  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin  Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

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00:00bilateral cooperation is crucial for both the Philippines and Germany. It also sends

00:12a clear message to our partners. The countries advocating the rules-based international order

00:20stand together. And our stance is clear. All countries must be able to enjoy freedom of

00:26navigation regardless of their economic strength or geographic size. This is what we stand

00:33up for, together with our partners. And this is how we can guarantee stability and security.

00:41It is our obligation to strengthen the maritime order, and we are living up to it. The United

00:47Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, is valid. We call on all countries

00:53to adhere to it. But we need to do more than stand up for UNCLOS. We need to contribute

01:01to de-escalation. This is only possible if we keep all channels of communication open,

01:08including those to China. By participating in the Indo-Pacific deployment, we uphold

01:14the rules-based international order.

01:17There is only one cause of conflict in the South China Sea, particularly in the West

01:22Philippine Sea. It is China's illegal and unilateral attempt to appropriate most, if

01:29not all, of the South China Sea as their internal waters, pursuant to now their 10-dashed line,

01:37on a nebulous and unfounded claim of historic rights. They always claim they have indisputable

01:46sovereignty and jurisdiction over all these areas, against all norms of international

01:54law. And that is the sole cause of tensions in the South China Sea.

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