The Philippines and South Korea are on the verge of establishing a strategic partnership, said Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo in an interview with The Korea Herald on Thursday.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Manalo was in Seoul to meet Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.

The talks focused on expanding cooperation in areas such as supply chains and climate change. Both sides also emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, and maritime order in the South China Sea.

Manalo and his South Korean counterpart, Foreign Minister Cho agreed to work towards upgrading their bilateral relations to a "strategic partnership" within this year.

Earlier in March this year, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol exchanged letters to commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations and agreed to elevate ties to a strategic partnership.

"We are expecting or hoping for a visit from President Yoon Suk Yeol to the Philippines in October," Manalo said.

"It is hoped that by the time of his visit, we'll be able to sign a strategic partnership," Manalo said, underscoring that his visit was the first by a foreign minister to South Korea in over seven years.

Asked about talks from the Philippine perspective on coast guard cooperation or maritime cooperation, he cited the Korea-Philippines Maritime Dialogue with Korea, which covers maritime security, safety, coast guard operations, and environmental protection.

"We are the only country so far that Korea has established such a dialogue with, and certainly the first Southeast Asian nation," he said.

Meanwhile, he also discussed the link between South Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy and its regional cooperation efforts, underscoring that it opens the door to working with countries like the Philippines on regional issues, including the South China Sea.

“I think, in terms of regional cooperation, it will further strengthen the ROK's presence and role with ASEAN,” he said, referring to South Korea by the initials of its official name, the Republic of Korea.

South Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy is focused on participating in key multilateral joint exercises to enhance its combined operational capabilities and improve interoperability.

This includes engaging in major exercises like Kamandag with the Philippines. According to the 2023 progress report on Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy, South Korea is also transferring decommissioned navy and coast guard vessels to Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines, to strengthen regional security.

“We expect Korea to be even more active with this Indo-Pacific strategy,” said Manalo.

“We have thanked Korea for their full support for the Philippines in terms of the need to reaffirm the importance of international law and rule-based order,” said Manalo, emphasizing collaborative efforts to ensure that all countries adhere to agreements, such as the UN Charter.

Manalo also mentioned that a bilateral free trade agreement was signed but is awaiting ratification.

"The only issue now is ratification. In our case, the concurrence by our upper house, the Senate, is needed. Once ratified, it can be implemented," he explained.

Concluding the interview, he recalled that Philippines-Korea ties were forged 75 years ago, just before the 1950-53 Korean War and a few years after World War II.

The Philippines was the first country in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc and the fifth globally to establish diplomatic relations with South Korea. During the Korean War, it sent 7,420 soldiers, the largest contribution from an Asian country and the fifth largest overall.

According to the United Nations Command, the Philippines suffered 448 casualties, including 92 deaths.

"We were committed to peace and development, and now, with the strategic partnership, we hope to build on this."

Profile:

Enrique Manalo, a seasoned diplomat, has been the Philippines' Secretary of Foreign Affairs since July 2022. During his service over 40 years, he served as Undersecretary for Policy twice and as the principal adviser on international relations. Manalo is an expert in multilateral diplomacy, having previously been the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York and Geneva.

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This article is part of a series examining the evolving relationship between ASEAN member countries and South Korea, in celebration of the 35th anniversary of ASEAN-Korea Dialogue Relations, to be commemorated this October. -- Ed.