Philippines, Singapore broaden defence ties with new military agreement

The Philippines is signing a defence pact with Singapore on Wednesday that will allow their militaries to broaden their engagement, including holding joint exercises to prepare for humanitarian emergencies and other contingencies, Philippine officials said.

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro will sign the Defence Cooperation Agreement with his counterpart in Singapore, two Philippine officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity ahead of the signing. Details of the agreement were not immediately available.

Since territorial hostilities between China and the Philippines surged last year at two hotly disputed shoals in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's administration has taken steps to forge new security alliances with a number of Asian and Western countries and allowed a US military presence at more Philippine bases under a 2014 defense pact.

In his state of the nation address before the Philippine Congress on Monday, Marcos stressed that