MANILA (UPDATED) — The Philippines and the United Kingdom on Tuesday agreed to develop a framework that would define the scope of their bilateral ties, with the foreign secretaries of both countries underscoring the need for closer cooperation over “pressing and evolving regional and international issues of mutual concern.”

The Joint Statement of Intent to Develop a Framework Agreement, signed during the visit of UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in Manila, is designed to “build on exchanges our two countries have been undertaking in the areas of defense, security, maritime, climate, economic and people-to-people ties, since we launched our Enhanced Partnership in 2021,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said after signing the said document.

“It also signals the strengthening of our bilateral ties in trade, investments, security, maritime cooperation and other fields,” Manalo said, noting that Cleverly is the first British foreign secretary to visit the Philippines since 2016.

“It is my hope that our commitment to further elevate our Enhanced Partnership will promote better understanding, and enrich the enduring bonds of friendship between our governments and peoples,” he said.

The two foreign secretaries made no mention of China and the tensions in the West Philippine Sea, but noted that the Philippines and the UK’s relationship are “founded on shared values that respect openness, freedom, and respects the rule of law and the adherence to that rule of law.”

“The UK is building enduring partnerships and the Philippines is one of those key partners,” Cleverly said.

The UK is looking forward to “sharing knowledge on maritime law, promoting maritime domain awareness, and enhancing maritime protections” along with the Philippines, he said.

“I visited Coast Guard to hear about the work they do to uphold the UNCLOS and protect the maritime environment,” Cleverly said.

“I’ve had a valuable set of discussions about what we can do together,” he said, without revealing further details.

Cleverly noted that “it is an exciting time for our bilateral relationship” as the bilateral trade between the two countries — which now stands at EUR 2.4 billion annually in goods and services — is at the “highest level that it has ever been.”

British entities have “boosted investment in clean infrastructure and energy” in the Philippines, and “launched a new trading scheme to increase Filipino exports to UK,” Cleverly said.

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“We are very very proud that that exemplifies the close working relationship we have as a nation,” the British official said.

“We aspire to increase that number further and that is an issue we discussed today,” he said.

Aside from maritime cooperation and security, Manila and London are looking to advance its partnership on climate change, trade, science and technology, he said.

“I am certainty of the prosperity of the United Kingdom and the prosperity of the Philippines will be closely woven in the many many years to come,” he said.

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President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. welcomed a possible expansion of the Philippines’ security and defense cooperation with the United Kingdom.

The President said a Philippine military alliance with the European country is a “welcome evolution.”

“It is not traditional for us to look to Europe for our… to seek alliances and partnerships when it comes to security and defense. But that seems to be the evolution, the geopolitics these days. It is a welcome evolution in my view, and again your visit here I think, is a clear indication of that intent,” Marcos, Jr. said in his meeting with the UK official in Malacañang.

He also noted that European countries are now looking to Asia as economies begin their post pandemic transformation.

“Trade has continued to come back. We are not quite at pre-pandemic levels yet, but we are fast approaching that, and that of course, is very important for us,” he said.

Cleverly, meanwhile, said that there are a lot of opportunities to build on the positive bilateral relationship between the Philippines and United Kingdom.

During the meeting, UK's top envoy described Manila and London's relationship as “very much like-minded, with very, very similar attitudes to world affairs, and very similar appetites to try and make the most of the bilateral relationship as well as the UK’s focus on Southeast Asia.“

He said both the Philippines and the United Kingdom are looking towards enhancing bilateral trade, an area which has potential for growth.

“I know that you are very focused on attracting investment into the country, and I’ve been discussing with our ambassador about UK export finance facility which I hope would encourage UK companies to invest more broadly,” he said.

The UK’s top envoy also noted that Manila and London can work closely on addressing climate change.

“I know you’re very focused to your country’s response to climate change, renewable energy generation and how you deal with the sad implications of that. And I think once again that’s an area where we can work very, very closely together,” he said.

Cleverly’s visit to Manila comes as the United Kingdom seeks to deepen its relationship with the Philippines particularly on key areas such as climate and environment, trade, maritime security and foreign policy.

— With a report from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News

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