Teodoro, Beck vow to advance bilateral defense in Seoul meet
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday met with Canada's Deputy Minister of National Defense, Stefanie Beck, at the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) in South Korea.
In a statement, the DND said the meeting "reaffirmed the strong and growing defense partnership between the Philippines and Canada," and ended with a mutual commitment to advance bilateral defense cooperation.
"During the meeting, both officials acknowledged progress in ongoing bilateral initiatives, including the proposed Philippines-Canada Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, maritime security cooperation, cybersecurity collaboration, and defense capacity-building," the DND said.
Teodoro welcomed Canada's increased engagement in regional security, highlighting its participation in recent multilateral maritime activities alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Australian Defence Force.
He also cited the two countries' continued cooperation in the field of cybersecurity as a key area of mutual interest.
Meanwhile, Beck reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to strengthening defense ties with the Philippines across multiple domains and highlighted Canada’s readiness to support efforts that enhance regional security and uphold the rule of law.
The DND said the two officials also emphasized the importance of working with like-minded partners to preserve the rules-based international order and address emerging security challenges in the region.
Teodoro, Beck, and other ranking defense officials are in Seoul to take part in the SDD and for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Command in South Korea set on Sept. 8 to 9.
Noah Note: I don't have much to say here other than I'm happy to see this. I believe firmly that Canada and the Phillipines could do more to support each other, and our relationship has a lot of potential not just economically but also to bolster our collective security.
Maybe its because I grew up around a lot of Filipinos but I have a deep admiration for them, their hard-working attitude and loyalty. They are great people, ones firmly established in the Canadian culture.
So seeing these kinds of efforts, especially coming off recently signed agreements is always gonna put a smile on my face. The Indo-Pacific relationships cannot survive off of just our usual allies. It requires us to branch out to new partners, and in turn step up our efforts.
The RCN has stepped up activity in the Pacific, in line with Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy. We've also stepped up support through the Dark Vessel Detection Program to support allows like the Phillipines and Taiwan.
These are good first steps. They're ones im happy to see but as always I expect to see more, and while good steps they also shouldn't be seen individually, or as isolated measures. These kinds of efforts need to be interlinked to each other, building off each other if we hope to establish ourselves as a player.