President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah attend a bilateral meeting, May 28, 2024. Presidential Communications Office

BENDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (UPDATED) — The Philippines and Brunei on Tuesday agreed to help each other in developing their maritime capability through joint skills training, as well as research and information sharing.

The memorandum of understanding on maritime cooperation between the two countries was signed during the state visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Brunei.

“Both sides agreed to further cooperation on wide ranging areas including pollution, skills training, research  and information sharing,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement.

Malacañang has yet to give the full details of the maritime cooperation deal.

Both the Philippines and Brunei have claims in the South China Sea. But observers have noted that Brunei has been a “silent claimant” as the Sultanate tiptoes around its economic relations with China.

“Brunei has been cautious in asserting its territorial claim to Louisa Reef,” the National Bureau of Asian Research had noted.

“The [Brunei] government has ordered that all maps indicating the country’s maritime claims in the South China Sea be strictly reserved for official use,” the NBAR’s note read.

But in 2020, Brunei’s Foreign Ministry issued a rare statement on the South China Sea following China’s continued incursions in the strategic waterway, saying that “negotiations on the South China Sea should be resolved in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS and the rules and principles of international law.”

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The Philippines, under the Marcos Jr. administration, has been more active in asserting its rights to its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, which China illegally claims.

Malacañang has yet to confirm if Marcos brought up the South China Sea issue with Brunei’s sultan.

Halal factories

Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the Philippines is seeking Brunei’s aid to earn certifications needed to establish Halal factories.

“We want to have a good Halal certification for the Philippines for our Muslim communities,” Tiu-Laurel told ABS-CBN News in a chance interview.

“We’re asking for assistance for Brunei to help us for Halal factories and plants,” he said.

In 2023, DA officials and their Bruneian counterparts held talks possible opportunities in the Halal industry.

The DA chief said he also visited one of Brunei’s “newest aquaculture farm using recirculating aquaculture close system.”

“It’s an eye-opener. We want to learn from them from this aspect,” he said.

Brunei — Southeast Asia’s second richest country — has been trying to diversify its sources of revenue to reduce its economy’s reliance on the oil and gas sector.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier identified food security as among his administration’s priorities.

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