South Africa could be a potential defense partner of the Philippines in the African region, according to the Department of National Defense (DND).
In a statement Wednesday, August 31, DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said DND Officer-in-Charge Jose Faustino Jr. and South African Ambassador to the Philippines Bartinah Ntombizodwa Radebe-Netshitenzhe met during the latter’s courtesy visit at the DND Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City recently.
“The OIC, DND conveyed that the Philippines views South Africa as a potential partner in the African region. The two sides agreed that both countries share common defense and security challenges, particularly combatting terrorism, insurgency, and other internal and external security threats,” Andolong said.
During their meeting, the defense chief and the South African envoy discussed possible frameworks of defense cooperation.
“Both sides reaffirmed interest in finalizing a framework to pave the way for pursuing areas of defense cooperation,” Andolong noted.
For her part, Radebe-Netshitenzhe mentioned that the Philippines and South Africa could explore collaboration on peacekeeping operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), among others.
Faustino and Radebe-Netshitenzhe also talked about security and defense priorities, the ongoing modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and geopolitical issues in the respective regions where they belong.