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The Philippines and Australia have strengthened their security and economic partnership by signing a strategic agreement, which was formalized after a meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Manila.

Albanese's visit marks the first bilateral talks between an Australian prime minister and Manila in two decades, following several visits by senior Australian government officials to the Philippines since Marcos assumed office in 2022.

Under this "strategic partnership", the two countries aim to enhance cooperation across various sectors, including defense, security, climate change, and education. Albanese emphasized that this elevation of their partnership symbolized the strength of their relationship and their shared commitment to working together more closely.

At the beginning of their talks, Marcos expressed gratitude to Albanese for Australia's strong support in the Philippines' efforts to address maritime claims that are considered invalid, in an indirect reference to China. Marcos emphasized the importance of having friends and partners like Australia on this issue.

Albanese described the Philippines and Australia as "great friends" and expressed hope that his visit would elevate their relationship even further. Australia regards a strategic partnership as the highest level of bilateral ties.

It is worth noting that the Philippines, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei, has overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and opposes any direct official foreign contact with the island.

While former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had pursued closer ties with China, the Marcos administration has been working to reverse that stance. Notably, Australian and Filipino troops recently conducted a joint exercise near the disputed waters, which was attended by Marcos, the Philippine Defense Minister, and the Australian Defense Minister.

This is happening as the US continues to hyper-materialize the region in efforts to contain China's rising power, deepening defense ties with both Australia and the Philippines.

Turning a blind eye to human rights violations 

As Australia deepened its military ties with the Philipines, Human Rights Watch had urged Albanese to "seriously" discuss human rights during his talks with Marcos. This included advocating for an end to the lethal drug war initiated by Duterte.

"The Australian government should recognize that it would be a mistake to deepen defense and security ties with the Philippines while ignoring human rights concerns," Australia director for HRW Daniela Gavshon said ahead of the talks.

"A security partner that routinely violates basic human rights will ultimately provide little safety and security for anyone," Gavshon added.

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