Phl seeking Czech support to modernize Armed Forces

PRAGUE - The Philippines is seeking the Czech Republic's support for the modernization of its armed forces, President Marcos said on Thursday as he asserted the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea in the global trade.

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At a joint press conference with Czech President Petr Pavel following their meeting here, Marcos said the Philippines' ongoing defense cooperation with like-minded nations was not meant to "win any war" but "maintain peace" in the region.

"It is really an ongoing process - all of these are really just as far as the Philippines is concerned with the maintenance of peace in the South China Sea," the President said, referring to the Philippines' ongoing defense cooperation with the US and Japan.

"It is an issue that is not only important for those around the Asia-Pacific region... but because the safe navigation and passage is important to international trade," he said, noting that 60 percent of global trade passes through the waterway.

Marcos said the country is in talks with the Czech Republic related to the ongoing modernization of the Armed Forces.

"We have based our discussions to the fact that the Czech Republic and the Philippines share the same values when it comes to the adherence to international law, that is something that, again, we find as a commonality between our two countries," he said.

"As we pointed out and continue to discuss... the Armed Forces of the Philippines is undergoing modernization program and under that program, there will be a great deal of procurement that needs to be done to modernize our forces and our capabilities and the Czech Repúblic has always been an important part of that development, of that evolution," Marcos said.

"And we are hoping that that would continue, not only at the present level but at the higher level," Marcos said.

For his part, Pavel said the Czech Republic has that long-standing tradition when it comes to defense industry.