PH, Lithuania ink MOU to enhance defense ties

The Philippines and Lithuania on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance the defense cooperation between the two countries.

In her speech during her visit to the Philippines, Lithuanian defense minister Dovile Šakaliene said the MOU is a framework for a “meaningful cooperation” with Manila. 

“Our strategic commitment to the Indo-Pacific is laid out in our new strategy for defense and security engagement in this region, which was announced last month and we already have some defense engagements with the Philippines,” Šakaliene said. 

For his part, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the signing of MOU will put into concrete terms their intended actions for “more advanced exchanges in a bigger scale in the coming years to come.”

“There is also a lot to learn from Lithuania in technology, in resilience, as the extensive topics that were stated by Her Excellency the Minister earlier, and we look forward to deepening our ties with Lithuania,” Teodoro said. 

The Philippines in the past years has expanded defense security cooperation with other countries amid the tensions with China in the West Philippines Sea. —KG, GMA Integrated News