Philippines, S Korea excel security cooperation for strategic partnership

South Korea and the Philippines, each faced by increasingly hostile rival nations, elevated their ties to a strategic partnership on Monday, including broader defence and security cooperation between the two US treaty allies.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit to the Philippines, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced the upgrade in overall relations after talks in Manila.

Under the strategic partnership, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation between their coast guards. Yoon also pledged to help modernise the Philippine military.

The two leaders discussed regional issues such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea and tensions on the Korean Peninsula, they said.

Marcos said in an opening statement that as the geopolitical environment is only becoming more complex, we must work together to achieve prosperity for our peoples and to promote a rules-based order governed by international law.

Philippine and Chinese coast g