PH continues talks with EU over SCS, WPS concerns

The Philippines continues to engage with the European Union (EU) over matters in the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea. The recent discussion that involved Philippine and EU officials came when Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Neal Imperial met European Union Special Envoy for the Indo-Pacific Richard Tibbels in Manila on Monday last week, March 13. According to the agency, the two diplomats exchanged perspectives on recent developments in the region, especially in maritime Southeast Asia. They also discussed security, maritime and economic concerns in the Indo-Pacific region, the DFA added. "The Philippines develops close bilateral relationships with all the major countries in the Indo-Pacific region. The visits of the Philippine President to Indonesia, Singapore, the US for the UN General Assembly, China, and Japan demonstrate our strategic approach in diplomacy," Imperial said. On March 15, the Philippines also sought maritime cooperation with Norway, a European country but not included in EU, as diplomats from both countries exchanged views on international and regional issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the West Philippine Sea. Manila's intent was expressed when Philippine Ambassador to Norway Enrico Fos visited Ine Eriksen Søreide, a member of the Norwegian Parliament, at the Stortinget. Søreide is the chairperson of the Expanded Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense of the Norwegian Storting (Parliament). Meanwhile, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron on Wednesday lauded the Philippine government for the establishment of the  IORIS National Governance. IORIS or the Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing is a secure and neutral platform for web-based maritime coordination and information-sharing tool for national and regional multi-agency. Veron, who called the event "historic," said in his speech that IORIS is important for the country as it "has a rich maritime history and tradition, and its future is linked to the sea." "[The] Philippines is the first Southeast Asian country to embrace IORIS and receive specific courses over the past years because the Philippine maritime authorities understood that cooperation is key and make you stronger in addressing maritime security challenges," he said.