Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. on Monday met with visiting Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Dovilė Šakalienė in Makati City, with a view on signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for enhanced defense cooperation.
“This visit is one of the outcomes of the extra-regional partnerships that smaller countries, in particular like the Philippines and Lithuania, need to build because we see common threats, common challenges, not only of threat actors but also of situational considerations,” Teodoro said.
For her part, Šakalienė said the accord will elevate defense ties between Manila and Vilnius to a new level. “It’s a framework for meaningful cooperation, and our strategic commitment to the Indo-Pacific is laid out in our new strategy for defense and security engagement in this region,” she said.
Although neither official explicitly named particular country as the “common threat,” both the Philippines and Lithuania have raised concerns over China’s activities in the West Philippine Sea and the Baltic Sea.
In November 2024, a Chinese cargo vessel was linked to the disruption of two submarine telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea. These cables connect Lithuania to Sweden, prompting Lithuanian naval forces to intensify surveillance efforts amid growing fears of hybrid warfare.
Meanwhile, Chinese vessels frequently harass Philippine ships and aircraft in the West Philippine Sea. China’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea intrude into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated Beijing’s claim over certain territories in the WPS.
“We see great potential for cooperation with Philippines in many areas, such as maritime security, including challenges related to shadow fleets by some big countries, our neighbors operating in the South China Sea and Baltic Sea,” Šakalienė said.
The Lithuanian minister said they will explore ways to protect critical underwater infrastructure and address hybrid threats and disinformation. Manila and Vilnius are looking into potential areas of cooperation in cybersecurity, intelligence sharing, military training, and crisis response, among other matters.
“Based on national security challenges, we feel that it would be very useful to have less population from the former Soviet Russia territory and more people who are Catholic, English-speaking, and pro-Western, and really have very common values with us, and also issues on support of Ukraine to be discussed and worked together on,” Šakalienė noted.
Meanwhile, Teodoro underscored that there is a need for the Philippines and Lithuania to insist on the proper application of international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other international norms.
He said both nations should also “resist any attempt to unilaterally redefine international law to the detriment of smaller countries.”
Teodoro said small nations need the protection of international law to retain their territorial integrities and sovereignties, and to steward their resources and natural gifts for future generations.
The bilateral meeting between Lithuania and the Philippines this week was a result of Teodoro’s discussion with Šakalienė on the side lines of the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He said this is part of President Marcos’ alliance building efforts.
The Philippines and Lithuania will mark the 35th anniversary of their diplomatic relations next year.
