Sweden seeks deeper defense ties with PH

READY TO COOPERATE Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. meets with his Swedish counterpart Pål Jonson during the Swedish Embassy’s celebration of its country’s National Day on June 6. —Department of National Defense Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — The Swedish government seeks to deepen defense relations with the Philippines and other like-minded countries in the region, as it prepares to unveil its Indo-Pacific security strategy in the coming weeks.

During his trip to Manila last week, Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson expressed alarm over China’s repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea, saying these actions “put human lives at risk, undermine regional stability and international norms, and threaten security in the region and beyond.”

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“These are not only threats to your national security but also to our common global security,” he said in a speech during the Swedish National Day reception, referring to the maneuvers but without directly naming China.

Jonson’s visit, which included meetings with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, was the final stop of a weeklong three-country swing in the Asia-Pacific.

“I came here because I wanted to deepen my and Sweden’s understanding of the region and the security challenges that you are exposed to,” he told journalists on the sidelines of the event.

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Security strategy

Jonson said the upcoming security strategy, outlining Sweden’s commitment to expand defense cooperation with like-minded countries in the region, will be released later this month or in July.

As an export and trading country, Sweden values freedom of navigation and safe lines of communication at sea as part of its core national interest, he said.

Part of the envisioned engagements include holding military staff talks, observing military exercises, sending liaison officers to regional commands, and fostering collaboration in areas such as defense innovation and cybersecurity.

The Philippines and Sweden signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the acquisition of defense materiel in June last year on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore. An implementing arrangement on the MOU was signed last month.

Stockholm has long offered to supply Swedish-made Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets to the Philippine Air Force (PAF). The Gripen is one of the two jet fighters identified by the PAF for its multirole fighter acquisition plan, the other being Lockheed Martin’s F-16 of the United States.

Jonson said it was up to the Philippines to decide “which platform serves the national interest in the best way” but that Sweden stands ready to cooperate.