The news
The Philippines and Germany signed a new defense deal on Sunday, as Manila seeks to bolster its diplomatic support to counter Beijing’s sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea.
The agreement focuses on ‘mutual understanding regarding capabilities, training (and) exchanging information,” the Philippine defense minister said, suggesting that Germany could supply military equipment to the Philippines in the future. Berlin “strongly opposes (any unilateral) attempt to promote expansive claims” in the region, the German defense minister said.
China and the Philippines have been fighting over territory in the South China Sea for months, and the two countries recently signed a “provisional agreement” to end hostilities. But Beijing continues to express frustration with Manila, prompting the Philippine government to look to Europe and the US for support.
Knowing more
The German-Philippine defense pact comes as China prepares to appoint a new ambassador to Germany. Whoever Beijing chooses will immediately have to deal with Berlin’s accusations that Beijing coordinated a cyberespionage attack on a federal mapping agency in 2021.
