Photo : YONHAP News
South Korea and the Philippines have agreed to elevate the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, 75 years after the two countries forged diplomatic ties.
At a leaders’ summit on the occasion of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit on Monday, Seoul and Manila decided to enhance two-way cooperation centered around the economy and security through the strategic partnership.
Yoon and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to expand South Korean businesses’ participation in the Southeast Asian country’s core infrastructure projects, while joining efforts to resume construction of the Bataan nuclear power plant that has been suspended since 1984.
While Yoon said he and his Philippine counterpart had taken note of the importance of nuclear power generation as a carbon-free energy source, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding for a feasibility study on the project resumption.
The leaders called for peace and stability along the South China Sea, with Seoul pledging to expand participation in combined military drills in waters near the Philippines. The two sides also intend to bolster cooperation in the defesen industry for modernization of the Philippine military.
Marcos, for his part, affirmed support for Seoul’s efforts toward North Korea’s denuclearization and Yoon’s recently proposed “August 15 Unification Doctrine.”
Wrapping up his state visit, Yoon is expected to depart for a state visit to Singapore Monday afternoon, where he will sit down for summit talks with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.