PH, UAE ink defense cooperation deal for ‘advance defense technologies’

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ defense cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will pave the way for “advanced defense technologies” collaboration, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday, January 14.

The Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation “will serve as a strong platform for collaboration with the UAE on advanced defense technologies” covering “unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare, and naval systems,” Marcos said in a statement after a two-day visit to Abu Dhabi, where the deal was signed.

“[These] are crucial for modernizing and enhancing the capabilities of our Armed Forces,” he added.

The deal will also “strengthen our defense and military relations, through education and training, intelligence and security sharing, and cooperation in the fields of anti-terrorism, maritime security, and peacekeeping operations.”

The UAE is the latest in a growing list of countries with defense and security deals and cooperations with the Philippines. It’s an expansion that has grown exponentially since the beginning of the Marcos administration amid efforts for the military to shift focus from internal to external defense.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is at the tail-end of its 15-year-long modernization program, which started in 2013 following the passage of the revised AFP Modernization Act.

While in Abu Dhabi, Marcos also witnessed the signing of a free trade agreement with the UAE on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. – Rappler.com