ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider French Senate commits to stronger defense, trade ties with the Philippines

French Senate commits to stronger defense, trade ties with the Philippines

Published Feb 22, 2024 11:59 am

The French Senate expressed its continued commitment to defense cooperation as well as to trade partnerships with the Philippines.

viber_image_2024-02-21_17-05-57-357.jpg
(Photo courtesy of Senate of the Philippines)

This was after the Philippine Senate met with the delegation from the French Senate, who were in the country for a parliamentary visit.

The French Senate expressed their continued commitment to defense cooperation, particularly in upholding rules-based maritime order and the 2016 Arbitral Ruling on the West Philippine Sea.

France sees the Philippines as a key partner in maintaining a free, safe, and peaceful Indo-Pacific region. To this end, they look forward to building a strong defense partnership with the Philippine government, following the gains made by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu during his visit to Manila in December 2023.

Trade partnerships were also discussed, with Zubiri thanking France for the extension of GSP+ privileges to the Philippines.

“The Philippine Senate and French Senate are anchored by a lot of shared values—democracy, liberty, and even bicameralism. This makes it easier for us to work together to strengthen cooperation in key sectors like defense and security, climate action, and trade and economy,” Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri said on Wednesday, Feb. 22.


Consisting of members from the Interparliamentary Friendship Group France-Southeast Asia, the French delegation was headed by Senator Olivier Henno. With him were Senators Fabien Genet, Patrice Joly, Catherine Belrhiti, Anne Ventalon, and Jean-Jacques Lozach. They were accompanied by French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel.

On the side of the Philippines, joining the Senate President at the meeting were Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, and Senators JV Ejercito, Nancy Binay, and Imee Marcos.

“We also hope to have your support as we negotiate for a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union,” Zubiri added. Henno committed his affirmative vote for the agreement.

Zubiri also said France is a viable partner in developing the Philippines’ renewable energy sector. In the Philippine Senate’s parliamentary visit to France in 2022, Zubiri was able to visit their Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant, where he got a first-hand look at its structural components and safety features.

France derives 70 percent of their electricity from nuclear energy.

On the topic of climate action and sustainability, Zubiri also sought France’s support for the Philippines as it takes on the responsibilities of being a member of the inaugural Loss and Damage Fund Board.

For their part, the French delegation committed that they would bring the Philippine’s concerns back to their government. Henno then invited the Philippine Senate to send a delegation to Nice in 2025, for the United Nations Ocean Conference.

Related Tags

senate president pro tempore Senate of the Phiippines Senator Imee Marcos Senate President Juan Miguel F.  Zubiri West Philippine Sea (WPS) Senator JV Ejercito 2016 arbitral ruling
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.