MANILA — The Philippines‘ increasing international security and economic engagements were for its own benefit and were not targeted at any country, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said on Friday.
“Through these various arrangements, what we have aimed at is to not only promote security in the sense of defense, but also economic security,” Manalo said in a forum with foreign correspondents.
Security and economic pacts between the Philippines and its allies, including the United States and Japan, have been growing amid increasing assertiveness by China in the South China Sea.
The Philippines and China have recently agreed on a provisional arrangement over Manila’s resupply missions to a beached vessel at the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the sea to ease tensions and manage differences.
Asked whether that arrangement could be replicated in other contested parts of the South China Sea, Manalo said it would depend on the situation.
—Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by John Mair
