PH, Korea ink defense, tourism deals
The Philippines and South Korea have signed cooperation deals on defense and tourism on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea (ASEANROK) Commemorative Summit here Tuesday.
In a statement, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration
(DAPA) said its minister, Wang Jung-hong, and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana signed an MOU on the procurement of certain defense materials.
It said the arrangement was expected to enable greater defense exports by South Korean companies through more contracts with the Philippine government.
“The arrangement is expected to allow more South Korean companies to be able to make contracts with the Philippine government so as to promote their defense exports to the Southeast Asian country,” DAPA said.
But Lorenzana, in an in
terview, said the Philippines will not be procuring arms from South Korea but the country has bought from them two frigates – BRP Rizal and BRP Luna – which they hope will arrive in the country before President Duterte steps down from office.
“The BRP Rizal is nearing completion and is now undergoing sea trial). It will be delivered sometime in May, April, or May next year,” he said.
“The BRP Luna, on the other hand, may be completed by December next year. It will be used for defense, not offense,” he added.
Lorenzana said the Philippines also wanted to buy two corvettes from South Korea but said the country was still planning how to finance the procurement.
“We’re still trying to figure out the financing because we do not have the money yet to pay for the two corvettes,” he said.
“If they can give us generous financing that we can pay, maybe, in a period of three to five years later on. Maybe, they will start assembling our corvettes then,” he added.
Lorenzana said he wanted to finish the negotiations by December this year so Hyundai Heavy Industries can start building the corvettes by January, 2020.
He said that the two corvettes, which cost P25 billion, will be used to patrol the southern part of the country, particularly the Sulu and Celebes seas, but not in the West Philippine Sea as corvettes may not be able to handle the huge waves in the disputed waters because they are smaller than frigates.
Tourism accord
The Department of Tourism (DOT), meanwhile, said the tourism deal “aims to introduce joint programs and activities that will bolster two-way tourism promotion and align tourism efforts between the Philippines and Korea; facilitate deeper and meaningful interactions between Filipinos and Koreans; and strengthen overall cooperation of the two countries on matters concerning tourist safety, security, and quality assurance.”
The deal will be in effect from 2019 to 2024, the DOT said. It was signed by Puyat and Minister Park Yang Woo of South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
“With this renewed pledge on tourism cooperation between the Philippines and Korea, we are hopeful we can sustain and intensify the already-strong ties with Korea that we enjoy,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat in a statement.
Puyat expressed hope that more Koreans will visit the Philippines as the DOT will be more “aggressive” in promoting the country.
“Needless to say, South Korea is undisputed in its position as the top source market of the Philippines for nine consecutive years. To sustain the momentum, the DOT will embark on a more aggressive marketing campaign to continue capture a bigger chunk of the Korean market,” said Puyat.
“The DOT Korea will be undertaking activities that will support the marketing efforts and collaborate with the travel trade on developing new thematic tour products for specific market segments,” she added.
The tourism department said that more than 1.4 million tourists from South Korea visited the Philippines from January to September this year, which registered a 20.97 percent growth rate as compared to the same period last year.
“We will encourage more airlines to fly direct to international gateways other than Manila from key cities in Korea” said Puyat.
“The positive growth only inspires us to constantly improve our work at the department and to show more Koreans to come visit us and find out why ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines,’” she added.