Phl, Sweden deepen defense partnership

The Philippines and Sweden's defense chiefs met on Thursday to explore ways to further deepen their countries' defense partnership.

Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr. welcomed Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson to Manila at the Department of National Defense (DND) headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.

Jonson's courtesy call to Teodoro marks the first time that a Swedish Defense Minister visited the Philippines.

It also coincides with the National Day of Sweden on 6 June.

"Secretary Teodoro considered as a clear manifestation of the budding relations between the Philippines and Sweden," DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong told reporters.

During their meeting, Teodoro highlighted the common values and shared recognition of the rules-based international order of the two countries.

Andolong said both defense chiefs also welcomed more opportunities to strengthen defense cooperation.

"Both Ministers underscored that the security of the Indo-Pacific and North Atlantic are interlinked, which necessitates a deeper understanding of each other's regional concerns amid shifts in the geopolitical architecture," he added.

For his part, Jonson shared Sweden's increasing interest in deepening its engagement and understanding of the Indo-Pacific region, through cooperation with like-minded nations such as the Philippines.

"To reciprocate arrangements made by the Philippines, Minister Jonson extended an invitation for Secretary Teodoro to pay an official visit to Sweden on a mutually convenient date," Andolong said.

In June 2023, the Philippines and Sweden concluded the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Cooperation in the Acquisition of Defense Material (MOU ADM) on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

The framework paved the way for advancing cooperation in the areas of logistics, technology research and development, defense industry development, and exchange of related information.

Aside from logistics cooperation, Andolong noted that both ministries explore exchanges on a broad range of mutual interests, such as defense education and capacity building, maritime security, rule of law, climate change adaptation, gender and security, total defense, cyber, and responsible use of emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs), among others.