Singapore — More allies will surface to show solidarity with the Philippines in countering the expansionist moves of China in the West Philippine Sea.

Many countries have expressed interest in helping the Philippines navigate regional security challenges on the back of the rising maritime tension, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said yesterday.

Talking to the media, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said there was a positive reception and proactive engagement from various international delegations during the 2024 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held high-level bilateral meetings with several leaders before giving a keynote address at Asia’s premier defense summit.

Brawner said the Philippines is “happy” about the development, as “a lot of countries (are) interested in helping us with the situation.”

“Even European countries are interested to come to the region and to assist us, to help us,” Brawner said.

“Not just interested to know what we think of the situation but really, they are offering us assistance, support,” he added.

Lithuania extends hand

President Marcos and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonyte have agreed to uphold the international rules-based order to pursue peace and security, Malacañang said Saturday.

This developed as both leaders met on the sidelines of Marcos’ working visit to Singapore.

Marcos and Šimonyte agreed to take a stand on their challenges with their respective neighbors.

The Philippines and China have conflicting claims over the West Philippine Sea, while Lithuania has a maritime border conflict with Russia.

“Over a hundred years that we have been in contact in informal trade that has been going on, it is still not balanced… All we want is the promotion of peace and the national interest,” Šimonyte said.

Meanwhile, Marcos emphasized Lithuania’s growing ties with the Philippines amid the external challenges experienced by both countries.

“I don’t work for Beijing, I don’t work for Washington, I don’t work for Moscow. I work for Manila. I work for the Philippines and that’s what I need to promote,” Marcos told Šimonyte.

“And the only way that we can navigate through all of this is to find ourselves, plant ourselves very clearly within international law and the rules-based order, within the agreements that most nations have made with one another when it comes to the resolution of these kinds of differences,” he said.

Marcos stressed that alliances with other countries can create a strong stand, in support of international law, to a nation’s sovereignty and sovereign rights while promoting peace and stability.

Šimonyte responded positively to Marcos’ statement.

“Absolutely. I think that, you know, small states matter. That will be my message tomorrow on the panel but not only small states matter, international law matters because this is a safety network for small states,” she said.

Marcos emphasized the need for any country to continue to promote international law and rules-based order amid unprecedented international challenges.

“The world has changed in a way that you can no longer isolate the effects of the Ukraine-Russia war around the world,” Marcos told Šimonyte.

“It is almost impossible but now it is regional issues, they eventually impact the unexpected places which are very, very far away,” he added.

Both leaders also talked about political and economic cooperation, and regional and global issues, including the Indo-Pacific region.

On Saturday, Marcos arrived back in Manila from his first state visit to Brunei Darussalam and his working visit to Singapore.

Marcos made history by being the first Philippine president to deliver a keynote message at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue.