President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy in a courtesy call on March 8, 2025, where they discussed trade and investments, maritime cooperation, climate change, and environmental initiatives.  Presidential Communications Office handout photo

MANILA — The Philippines and the United Kingdom on Saturday inked several agreements to forge closer cooperation, including deals to continue joint maritime exercises” and “information sharing on maritime domains.”

With the signing of the Philippines-UK Joint Framework, Manila and London are set to “chart the depth and direction of our Enhanced Partnership across various areas” including “defense and security, human rights, maritime, and economic resilience,” Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Eduardo Manalo said.

“We are working on a number of proposed agreements such as an Implementing Arrangement under our 2024 MOU on Defense Cooperation, and an MOU on information sharing concerning improving our maritime domain awareness,” he said.

“We agreed to continue participation and exchanges in joint military exercises  and maritime patrols, as well as port calls of British naval vessels,” he said, noting that offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey visited the Philippines twice last year.

“Later this year, we will also hold the next iteration of our sectoral dialogue mechanisms on defense, maritime, and climate and environment, and possibly conclude various agreements in defense and security, ICT, maritime, and financial cooperation,” he added. 

Manila and London are “determined to find more common grounds in emphasizing our commitment to democracy, international law, and a rules-based international order,” Manalo said.

“I express the Philippines’ appreciation for the UK’s firm support of a free, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, and we welcome the UK’s Indo-Pacific Approach towards a more deliberate engagement in the region,” he said. 

“We are as invested as the UK and other friends and partners in making the Indo-Pacific an engine of growth and prosperity.”

‘LIKE A STURDY SHIP’

Manila and London’s ties “enjoy the sturdiest and the best-built relationship like a sturdy ship,” said British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy.

“We are countries that are committed to international law. We are countries that are committed to the rules-based order. We are countries that take our obligations under the UN Charter seriously,” he said.

“We want to support you as you protect your marine diversity, as you make your just transition,” he said.

The UK is looking to “strengthen ties with like-minded partners like the Philippines,” Lammy said, noting that the world is currently seeing “a lot of global volatility.” 

“We have stood together in supporting Ukraine, and supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific, understanding that the Euro-Atlantic arena and the Indo-Pacific arena are indivisible,” he said.

 “We see the world through the same eyes. We are aligned in our approach. There is so much that we can continue to do together,” he said.

PH-UK RAA? 

While there are no concrete plans for a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and the United Kingdom, such military agreement is “still a possibility,” Manalo said.

“It’s still a possibility. I think a general clause, but nothing firmed yet,” the Philippine Foreign Affairs chief said.

“But certainly that could be something in the horizon,” he added.

An RAA — similar to what the Philippines has forged with Japan and Australia — would allow the entry and training of signatory countries’ forces in each other’s territories. It serves as the legal basis of the foreign troops to the country and outlines who should shoulder aspects of operational costs, and how legal issues involving troops would be resolved.

OTHER COOPERATION EFFORTS

Aside from collaborations on the defense sector, Manila and London have also agreed to strengthen their economic and people-to-people ties.

The two countries will launch the inaugural PH-UK Joint Economic Committee (JETCO) meeting in London this month to “further develop cooperation in key areas such as  Infrastructure development, agriculture,  and energy including renewables,” Manalo said.

The UK “remains among the Philippines’ top investment partners” with bilateral trade “reaching  £2.9 billion in recent years,” the DFA Secretary said.

“We anticipate the continuous growth of UK investments in the country, particularly on renewable energy, with recent investments from the United Kingdom on solar power projects amounting to more than $600 million,” he said.

“The proposed PH-UK agreement on financial cooperation will particularly unlock a £5.2 billion credit facility for the Philippines through the UK Export Finance, on 15 key sectors including agriculture, transportation, ICT, water sanitation, and health,” he said.

The DFA chief also thanked his British counterpart for the UK’s help for Filipino typhoon victims, and for its programs on gender and development, women’s participation in social development, and institution building in the Bangsamoro.

Meantime, Lammy also paid a courtesy visit on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Malacañang.

Marcos Jr. last visited the UK in 2023 to attend the coronation of King Charles III.

The Philippines and the United Kingdom are set to mark the 80th Anniversary of their relations next year.