The Philippines and Greece agreed to advance and improve their defense relationship amid numerous global and regional issues, high-ranking officials of both countries announced on Wednesday, June 19.
(From right) DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo meets with Defense Minister Nikos Dendias during his recent visit to Athens, Greece. (Photo from Nikos Dendias/X)
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo shared about his visit to Greece.
Manalo met with Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Defense Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens.
“Honored to meet @PrimeministerGR Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Discussed strong (Philippine-Greece) ties, people-to-people exchanges, trade & investment, labor & maritime coop(eration), & strong support for common positions on many issues, particularly upholding rules-based global order & int(ernationa)l law, including UNCLOS,” he wrote.
The DFA chief also said that he had an “engaging discussion” with Dendias on maritime and defense cooperation, as well as regional and global issues, including Ukraine, Gaza, and the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea issues.
The meeting also “highlighted the importance of free navigation, as both Greece and the Philippines place particular emphasis on this matter,” the Greek defense chief added in a separate post on X.
“We discussed need for like-minded countries like (the Philippines and Greece) to speak up for international law, & uphold UNCLOS & 2016 Arbitral Award. I look forward to more fruitful (Philippine-Greece) defense exchanges,” Manalo furthered.
Dendias likewise shared on X about the DFA secretary’s visit to the Ministry of National Defense, which he said was a “great joy.”
“During our meeting, we discussed the friendly relations between our countries, as well as the perspective of strengthening our bilateral cooperation in the field of defence,” he wrote.
“We exchanged views on international and regional matters in Defence and Security, based respect for International Law,” he added.