50 defense agreements under DND review — Gibo

Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. said the Department of National Defense (DND) is currently reviewing around 50 defense cooperation agreements and exchanges with various countries that "do not align" with the Philippines’ defense and foreign policy objectives.

“We are also in the process of reviewing the agreements with countries that do not support our claims and do not have benefit to our defense and foreign policy position,” Teodoro told reporters in an interview in Makati City on Wednesday.

Teodoro said the ongoing “management review” has prompted the DND to take action on several existing agreements.

“We have a host of existing defense agreements. Some are dormant; some are with countries whose interests may not necessarily align with ours. So we will review how to move forward with these agreements,” he said.

Teodoro noted there is no specific deadline for completing the DND’s review, stressing that the evaluation process requires considerable time and effort.

“There are no deadlines, but naturally it takes a lot of manpower and man-hours. Hopefully, we can make our department through transformation efforts more robust, so that we can sustain the pace of what we are doing now,” he said.

“That being said, our alliance-building measures are clearly defined now by countries with similar interests, particularly those that support our interests in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

Teodoro also said he has taken a thorough look at the DND’s internal systems since assuming office.

“I took a deep dive into all our systems, from international alliances to logistics to infrastructure to strategic reviews to defense education, etc. So those are one of the outcomes of my management review,” he added.

“The management review started on day one from my assumption. Naturally, you have to have an audit of everything that your department is doing,” he noted.

Aligning with Philippine claims

Teodoro emphasized the importance of aligning all defense agreements with the country’s national interest, particularly in relation to its claims in the West Philippine Sea and its exclusive economic zone.

“We have a matrix that we formed. These are being reviewed on what the benefits are rather than the costs of managing them. Or if a country, theoretically, I'm not singling out any. If a country is really misaligned with us, then it's useless to continue having a defense agreement,” he explained.

He added that all options remain on the table regarding the outcome of the review.

“It depends on who the approving authority was with this agreement. Naturally, this is not a department-only activity. I will need to consult with other departments. If this was a mandate of the executive at that time, then we'll have to recommend appropriate action,” he said.

“We have about 50 Memorandum of Understandings, 50 or so. So we're reviewing, or possibly even more,” he noted.

Teodoro declined to reveal which countries’ agreements are under review, citing confidentiality clauses.

“I cannot tell you exactly because some of these agreements have disclosure restrictions,” he said.

“There's no ideal number. As many countries that we have that there is a fit, then we will,” he added.