The Netherlands is open to enhancing its defense ties with the Philippines and has proposed jump starting cooperation, the Department of National Defense (DND) announced Thursday.

The proposal was extended by Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Philippines Marielle Geraedts during her courtesy call with DND Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. last October 2.

“Noting the Philippines’ recent adoption of the National Security Policy 2023-2028, the Dutch Ambassador reiterated the proposal on establishing naval defense industry cooperation with the Philippines, underscoring its strategic and economic advantages in the long term. Secretary Teodoro agreed and further proposed to develop broader defense cooperation, taking into consideration the importance of other areas such as cyber and artificial intelligence, as well as the Netherland’s potential to become a partner in these areas,” the DND said in a statement.

This proposal is interesting considering that the Philippines is modernizing its Navy and looking to acquire a variety of naval craft, which include corvettes, frigates, and submarines to enhance its fleet’s external defense capabilities.

In response to this, Teodoro proposed greenfield opportunities in various industries, particularly in defense and security, with the Netherlands and the European Union.

“Relatedly, the SND [Secretary of National Defense] shared about the recalibration of the Philippines’ defense strategy, which sees a shift in favor of territorial and external defense, and underscores the development of a credible defense posture that will effectively protect Philippine interests in the country’s exclusive economic zone.”

In a related development, the Philippines and Norway reaffirmed their commitment to the rule of law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The reaffirmation took place during the courtesy call of Ambassador of Norway to the Philippines Christian Halaas Lyster to the defense chief last October 2.

“As the Philippines and Norway celebrated the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations on March 2, 2023, Ambassador Lyster proposed exploring maritime, energy, and fisheries industry cooperation with the Philippines. Secretary Teodoro, for his part, welcomed Norway’s support, noting that it would enable the country to refocus on deterrence, increase footprint in the West Philippine Sea, and assert sovereign rights for resource exploration and exploitation in the country’s exclusive economic zone,” the DND added.

Teodoro and Lyster also discussed non-traditional security concerns where the importance of the cyber domain and the seriousness of threats, such as fake news, as interconnectivity in information systems dramatically increases, were reiterated.