By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES and South Korea on Monday signed six agreements, including one that calls for a feasibility study on the rehabilitation of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), as they upgraded bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.
At the center of this development is the effort by the two nations to boost bilateral trade, especially after the Philippine Senate last month ratified the free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea.
“The time has come for us to elevate the ties between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea to a strategic relationship,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. told South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a bilateral meeting at the Presidential Palace in Manila.
“As the geopolitical environment is only becoming more complex, we must work together to achieve prosperity for our peoples and to promote a rules-based order governed by international law,” he said, citing the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.
Mr. Yoon arrived on Sunday for a two-day visit to the Philippines, the first leg of his three-nation Southeast Asian trip. He and his wife Kim Keon Hee visited the Korean War Memorial Hall at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani to pay tribute to Filipino soldiers who died during the 1950-53 Korean War. Around 7,400 Philippine troops were deployed to Korea during the war, 112 of whom were killed.
Mr. Yoon said his visit was an “opportunity to not only further enhance our trade and economic cooperation, but also widen the scope of our partnership to include future-oriented sectors such as security, digital technology, and energy.”
During their meeting, Mr. Marcos and Mr. Yoon signed several memoranda of understanding (MoU), including one for the conduct of a feasibility study of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which was completed in 1985 but was never used due to safety concerns.
The Department of Energy said the two-phase feasibility study that will commence in January is designed to generate critical information to guide the Philippine government’s decision-making process not only on the BNPP but also in “exploring other nuclear technologies and potential alternative sites for nuclear energy development.”
“This study will play a key role in assessing the feasibility, safety, and sustainability of various nuclear energy options, helping the government make well-informed choices that align with the country’s long-term energy goals,” the DoE said in a statement.
All costs associated with the feasibility study will be shouldered by the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP) while the Philippine government is “under no legal obligation to proceed with the rehabilitation of the BNPP or to engage KHNP based on the study’s findings,” it added.
“The study is exploratory in nature, and any subsequent actions will be subject to further evaluation and decision by the government,” it said.
The DoE said the first phase of the study will involve an assessment of the BNPP’s condition, while the second phase will involve an evaluation on whether or not the plant can be refurbished using the most optimal model.
SECURITYFollowing their bilateral meeting, Mr. Yoon said the two nations agreed to “strengthen strategic partnership on the security front,” with Seoul vowing to take an active part in the third phase of the modernization program for the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“Also based on the maritime cooperation MoU signed today, our two countries will reinforce maritime security partnership in such areas as tackling transnational crime, information sharing and conducting search and rescue missions,” he added.
Mr. Yoon said he and his Philippine counterpart also agreed to “work together in order to deliver tangible benefits to the citizens of both countries by stepping up economic cooperation.”
Bilateral trade between the two nations hit $17.5 billion in 2022, $12.3 billion of which were exports and $5.2 billion were imports, according to data from South Korea’s foreign ministry.
The Philippine Senate in September ratified the FTA between the Philippines and South Korea. South Korea’s National Assembly has yet to ratify the deal.
Mr. Yoon said he and Mr. Marcos agreed to make sure the FTA enters into force “at the earliest date possible.”
Manila and Seoul also signed MoUs on an economic innovation partnership program, which seeks to advance national, regional, and urban development in the Philippines, and for strategic cooperation on critical raw material supply chains.
They also signed a loan agreement for the Samar Coastal Road II Project, as well as MoUs for the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project Phase I (Stage I) and the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project.
The Philippines and South Korea also signed an MoU to boost maritime cooperation between their coast guards.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has been at the receiving end of China’s aggression into Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety based on a 1940s map that a 2016 arbitration award said had no basis.
Joshua Bernard B. Espeña, vice-president at the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation, said helping boost the PCG is strategic for Seoul since it’s known for shipbuilding and as it has a growing concern over China’s aggression at sea.
“The Republic of Korea, like others, realizes that China frames its creeping invasion of the waters as a matter of law enforcement. So, anything that can counter such a feat is needed, like in the case of boosting PCG capabilities, whose principal surface combatants are limited,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chart.
Mr. Espeña said the strategic partnership between the Philippines and South Korea is timely “given how the two states have been diversifying their relations with other regional states.”
The Philippines and South Korea are also US allies which share common concerns over China, “a revisionist power against the rules-based order,” Mr. Espeña said.
Aside from Mr. Yoon’s visit, Seoul had initiated 10 high-level engagements with Manila since 2010, most of which were in 2015, according to its foreign ministry.
“Seoul and Manila are not treaty allies, but since they are co-US allies confronted by a revisionist power, a more flexible yet proactive approach is needed,” Mr. Espeña said, noting that the six deals signed between the countries were largely addressing development issues.
The Philippines under Mr. Marcos has been active in condemning nuclear threats from North Korea, saying in July that its ballistic missile test provoked “tensions” and undermined “economic progress, peace, and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the lndo-Pacific region.”
“South Korea is becoming a more strategic economic and security partner given the geopolitical issues in the South China Sea and also in East Asia,” said Philip Arnold P. Tuaño, dean of the Ateneo School of Government.
Mr. Tuaño said via Messenger chat that it is important for the Philippines to strengthen its alliance with partners to ensure security issues are adddressed.
“South Korea has been seen to be an important supplier of maritime and aeronautical defensive capabilities and an important technological partner to strengthen our manufacturing capacities,” he said.
Mr. Marcos, speaking at a business forum organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Korean Industries, touted that the Philippine Congress was already at the last stages of the legislative process to enact a bill that seeks to further lower corporate income tax.
“Anchored on the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act of 2021, it will further strengthen our fiscal and non-fiscal incentives in strategic industries,” he said in a speech.
The bill seeks to simplify the approval process for tax deductions, streamline the value-added tax refund system, and align tax incentives with global standards.
“We aim to make the Philippines a top destination for sustainability, and to be sustainable in our strategic investments,” he said.
