Finland has expressed desire to integrate "green technology" to Philippine naval vessels, the Department of National Defense (DND) revealed Friday, Sept. 23.
DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said that the proposal was offered by Ambassador of Finland to the Philippines Juha Pyykko during a courtesy call on DND Officer in Charge Jose Faustino Jr. in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City last Wednesday.
"Ambassador Pyykkö raised Finland's interest in offering green technology for naval vessels," Andolong stated.
Details of the proposal remain unclear as of writing. This, however, may contribute to the reduction of harmful emmissions and other hazardous effects to the environment of military assets and equipment.
During the meeting, Pykko also made public Finland's interest to partner with the Philippines in the fields of energy, digital governance, and education among others.
Meanwhile, Faustino told Pykko that the Philippines and Finland do not have a formal defense agreement. However, he emphasized that this does not prevent the two countries from exploring possible cooperation in areas of mutual importance in the field of defense and security.
Faustino also shared the DND's priorities under the current administration, noting that the department "continues to pursue its international engagement in support of the Philippines' national interests and in accordance with the President's foreign policy."
He further mentioned that the DND's thrust in the armed forces modernization is geared towards improving external defense capability and "very much affected" by changes in the security environment surrounding the Philippines.
Faustino and Pykko also exchanged updates and views on security-related matters that concern the Philippines and Finland, including the developments in the South China Sea (SCS) and Europe, and Finland's application to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The Finnish Embassy in Manila was reopened in 2020 with a view of developing overall bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Finland as well as providing a more solid basis for policy analysis in the Asian region.