Australia, PH vow deeper defense ties as ‘rules-based order under pressure’
Metro Manila, Philippines - Australia reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening defense ties with the Philippines as both nations face mounting challenges to international law and security in the Indo-Pacific, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles said Friday.
In an exclusive interview with NewsWatch Plus, Marles said the Australia–Philippines relationship is undergoing a major shift, moving from people-to-people ties and training exchanges into a more strategic partnership anchored on shared values.
“Well I think what we're seeing with the Australian–Philippines relationship is one which has been transformed. I mean it's a relationship which has always had very strong people-to-people links,” Marles said, citing Australia’s large Filipino diaspora and history of military training cooperation.
“But what we're really seeing now is a much more strategic dimension being brought to the relationship. And in that sense, it really is being transformed.”
Marles underscored that both countries share democratic values and a commitment to international law, at home and abroad.
“We are two countries, both of which share values — democracies, freedom of speech. We are committed to the rule of law at home, but committed to a rules-based system abroad. And we're watching those rules being placed under pressure here in the Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asia, and that engages both the national interest of the Philippines and Australia,” he said.
High-level meetings in Manila
Earlier in the day, Marles paid a courtesy call on Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin at Malacañang’s Presidential Guest House, joined by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Australian Ambassador Marc Innes-Brown.
The visit coincided with the 2nd Philippines–Australia Defense Ministers’ Meeting, where Marles and Teodoro reaffirmed defense cooperation as a “vital pillar” of the two countries’ Strategic Partnership.
In a joint statement, the two officials cited the challenging security environment, increasing strategic competition, and unprecedented military build-up in the Indo-Pacific as drivers of their deeper cooperation. They also stressed the importance of upholding international law and respecting sovereignty.
On the South China Sea, both sides expressed “serious concern” over what they described as China’s dangerous and coercive actions against Philippine vessels, and reaffirmed that the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award is final and binding. They underscored the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Marles and Teodoro welcomed progress in updating the 1995 Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperative Defense Activities and signed a Statement of Intent on Enhanced Defense Cooperation.
Exercise ALON 2025
On the sidelines of the meetings, Marles is also scheduled to observe Exercise ALON 2025, Australia’s largest overseas military training activity this year.
Running from August 15 to 29, the exercise involves over 3,600 personnel from the AFP and ADF, with participation from the Royal Canadian Navy and the United States Marine Corps’ Marine Rotation Force–Darwin. Training is being conducted across Luzon and Palawan to enhance interoperability, readiness, and regional security cooperation.
Defense officials from both countries hailed the exercise as the “flagship” of bilateral cooperation, complementing Philippine participation in Australia’s Exercise Talisman Sabre earlier this year.
“So what you've now got is both countries working very closely together to assert that rules-based order and in the process we're really seeing our relationship blossom,” Marles told NewsWatch Plus.
