Several countries offering to help PH amid threats in the region —Brawner

SINGAPORE - Armed Forces chief of staff Romeo Brawner Jr. said that a lot of countries have shown support and expressed willingness to help the Philippines amid the threats the country has been facing in the region. 

Brawner made the statement after meeting with foreign counterparts at the sidelines of the 2024 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue where President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. delivered the keynote address. 

''A lot of countries who are here joining the Shangri-La Dialogue would like to have a bilateral meeting with us. We are happy about that because it only means to say that a lot of countries [are] interested in helping us with the situation. Not just interested to know what we think of the situation but really, they are offering us assistance, support,'' Brawner told reporters.

Brawner said he is surprised that ''even European countries are interested to come to the region and to assist us, to help us.”

He added that these countries could offer assistance to the Philippines through joint exercises and training as well as joint operations. 

They could also help in the country's capacity development, the top military official said. 

During Marcos' keynote address on Friday, the President called on the US and China to manage their rivalry to maintain peace and stability in the region.

''China’s determining influence over the security situation and the economic evolution of this region is permanent. At the same time, the stabilizing presence of America is crucial to regional peace. It's never a choice. Both countries are important,'' Marcos said.

''The continued stability of this region requires China and the United States to manage that rivalry in a responsible manner,'' he added.

According to Marcos, it has become even more crucial for the Philippines to assert that the future of the region will not be driven by one or two powerful countries, ''but by all of us.''

''The interests and responsibilities of all states in the community of nations must always be acknowledged. All our voices must be equally heard,'' Marcos said. 

The Philippines and China are also at odds over the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos stressed that the principles remain the same and that the Philippines promotes what is based on international law and rules-based order.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News