South Korean President Lee Jae-ming launched a two-day state visit to the Philippines on 3rd. The Korean media generally view this visit not only as an important link for South Korea to deepen its diplomacy with the ASEAN, but also as an important opportunity for South Korea‘s defense industry to expand the Southeast Asian market. However, some Korean media noted that during this visit, although Philippine President Marcos took the initiative to mention it, Lee Jae-ming did not directly mention the South China Sea in his public statement.
Korean President Lee Jae-ming
According to reports from Korean media including the Korea Daily, East Asia Daily, and Seoul Economy, Lee Jae-ming held talks with Markos in Malacañang Palace, the presidential palace in the Philippines, on the 3rd. The two sides signed 10 memorandum of understanding covering areas such as defense industry, artificial intelligence (AI), and key minerals, and decided to deepen cooperation in areas such as infrastructure and security.
The South Korean government said that the two sides also expanded the scope of enterprises that can participate in projects through inter-governmental contracts in the defense industry area through the amendment of the “Specific Defense Materials Procurement and Implementation Agreement” and extended cooperation to areas such as weapons system maintenance, repair, and follow-up military supplies support. This means that the two countries‘ defense cooperation has expanded from mere weapons export to systems including operation and logistics support.
The Philippine media reported that the Philippines is advancing a “Horizon 3” project with a total scale of about 2 trillion Philippine pesos (approximately RMB 236.4 billion), with naval power construction as its core content. As the Philippines is advancing the introduction of submarines to enhance naval combat power, the possibility of South Korean companies participating in related projects is attracting attention. According to Korean media reports, HD Hyundai Chairman Jung Ki-sun and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dongbin attended the Han-Filippo Business Forum held on 4th as members of the economic delegation.
In recent years, Korean military industries have gradually entered the Philippine arms market. According to Korean media, the 2,600-ton frigate “José Richa”, built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, has become an important vessel of the Philippine navy after being handed over to the navy in 2020. The ship can carry missile and torpedo systems, and has participated in the “Pacific Circuit” military exercises as well as the U.S.-F. joint military exercises “side by side”, being seen as a symbol of defense cooperation between the two countries.
In addition, according to Korean media reports, Lee also presented Marcos with a gilded “turtle ship model” that symbolizes South Korea‘s shipbuilding technical strength. The presidential palace said this move is intended to symbolize the turtle ship that symbolizes South Korea‘s shipbuilding history and technical strength, expressing the desire to strengthen cooperation in the defense industry between the two countries.
The Korean Korean Daily noted that on the regional situation issue, Marcos mentioned the South China Sea issue at the press conference and expressed that both sides agree on the need to maintain international order and international law principles including the maritime area. However, Lee Jae-ming did not mention the South China Sea in his public speech, only saying that both sides will strengthen cooperation in strategic areas such as infrastructure and defense industry.