MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. underscored the importance for like-minded countries to “present a united front against any unilateral attempts to take territory from any other country” during his bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday.

This comes after their discussion on latest developments in the South China Sea and Ukraine. President Scholz reiterated the need to adhere to international law particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea and ensuring freedom of navigation.

President Marcos acknowledged Germany’s assistance in securing the country’s maritime domain, including through capacity-building of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and trainings of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

For his part, Scholz assured President Marcos of Germany’s continued support and their commitment to increase maritime cooperation with the Philippines including other cooperative endeavors between the two countries. “So, we are willing to increase this, and all the other cooperation we are having,” Scholz told President Marcos.

The meeting between President Marcos and Scholz coincided with the 70th anniversary of Philippines-Germany diplomatic relations, which was formally established on October 8, 1954. (PND)