LITHUANIA strongly supports the Philippines, particularly with regard to national territorial integrity and legal rights under international law.
Lithuanian Ambassador to Manila Ricardas Slepavicius issued this statement during a meeting with Philippine officials at the Department of National Defense headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
The Philippine delegation consisted of Defense Undersecretary Irineo Espino, Undersecretary for Strategic Assessment and Planning Ignacio Madriaga, and Assistant Secretary for Strategic Assessments and International Affairs Marita Yoro.
The envoy was accompanied Lithuania’s Minister Counsellor Vilijus Samuila.
During the meeting, Slepavicius shared his country’s policy on the Indo-Pacific, recognizing the Philippines as an important part of the region and underscoring the two countries’ common interest for peace, security, and a rules-based international order.
Espino recalled his previous meeting with Vaidotas Urbelis, Defense Policy Director at the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense, on the sidelines of the 12” International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue Sherpa Meeting last January in Singapore.
Espino also conveyed the DND’s openness to holding further defense talks with the Baltic state, and expressed interest in learning about Lithuania’s experience in dealing with bellicose states.
Cognizant of the interrelatedness of security challenges in the Philippines and Lithuania, both sides looked forward to developing cooperative bilateral defense engagement which could include military training, cyber security, energy security, defense technology, research and development, and countering hybrid threats.
