PH, AUSTRALIA SIGN AGREEMENTS ON MARITIME, CYBERSECURITY, TRADE

AT least three agreements were signed during the state visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Canberra where he addressed the Parliament of Australia.

The President reported the signing of the agreements covering issues of maritime domain, cyber and critical technology, and effective implementation of the respective competition laws and policies of the two countries.

“The three agreements exchanged today (Feb. 29) shall enhance information sharing, capability building, and interoperability between our relevant government agencies in the maritime domain and maritime environment, cyber and critical technology, and competition law,” President Marcos said.

“The three agreements add to the more than 120 agreements that our two countries have signed through the decades. And these are in various fields, including defense cooperation, air services, education, research, scientific and cultural cooperation, amongst others,” he added.

On the maritime domain, the Philippines is keen to enhance cooperation in order to strengthen the civil military cooperation, promote international law and rules-based international order, safeguard the marine environment and cultural heritage, enhance defense engagements, and establish avenues for dialogue among relevant agencies of the Philippines and Australia.

The Philippines also looks forward to sharing information and best practices with Australia in terms of cyber and critical technology, conducting capacity building, promoting a secured digital economy, and achieving greater understanding of the application of international law norms in cyberspace.

The cooperation on effective implementation of the respective competition laws and policies of the Philippines and Australia is one of the practical ways of the two countries to strengthen economic relations through the sharing of best practices and the conduct of capacity building on matters involving merger regulations, competition laws, and investigative techniques relevant to implementing competition laws.

The three agreements signed during President Marcos’ visit to Canberra added to the existing agreements signed during the visit of Prime Minister Albanese to the Philippines in September last year.

During Albanese’s visit to the Philippines, three agreements were signed such as the “Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership”; Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a Work and Holiday Arrangement; and the MOU on furthering Cooperation on the National Soil Health Strategy.