THE Philippines and South Korea on Monday, Sept. 14, signed a five-year accord that regulates and safeguard exchanges of classified military data regarding regional security.
The accord, signed by Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and South Korean Defense Minister Han Minkoo, would allow the Philippine government to be more informed about what happens on the Korean Peninsula, which would facilitate the protection of Filipinos working in the area.
Nearly 50,000 Filipinos work and reside in South Korea, according to the Associated Press.
In a statement, the Philippine defense department said that the “safety and repatriation of Filipinos residing in the Republic of Korea will be the Philippines’ paramount concern when such contingency erupts between the two Koreas.”
While the Philippine military has traditionally relied on the United States for military support, it has looked to other countries, such as South Korea, to boost its forces with the intensifying territorial dispute with China.
South Korea will help the Philippines reinforce its military by sending two fighter jets to it in the later part of this year. Eventually, it will deliver a total of 12 fighter jets to the Philippines.
On Monday, Han also said that countries directly involved in the South China Sea dispute, referred to as the West Philippine Sea by the Philippines, should abide by the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, Inquirer reported. He added: “I also look forward to the speedy conclusion of the code of conduct concerning the South China Sea.”
The Philippines is among claimants in the disputed territory, along with Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. China claims nearly the entire region, while the other countries have overlapping claims.
The South China Sea, referred to as the West Philippine Sea by the Philippines, sees more than $5 trillion worth of trade pass through annually, Philstar reported. The disputed area is also crucial to South Korea, as approximately 90 percent of Seoul’s petroleum and 30 percent of its trade go through the waterway, the AP reported.
“It is my stance that the relevant nations regarding this area and this situation should solve this situation based on mutual respect toward each other’s sovereignty … and mutual understanding of each nation’s perspective,” Han said during a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo, according to Philstar.
Han called the security situation in the area an “Asian paradox” and that although Asia has experienced stronger economic ties, additional effort is necessary to improve security cooperation in the region.
“Asia, especially East Asia, is an area which attracts the eyes of the world. And to give an assessment of that region of Asia, the security in Asia is such that economic cooperation has been deepening for some time now, but the security operation has not been up to speed. We call this phenomenon the Asia paradox,” Han said.
