02 May 2016- Top defense officials from the Philippines and Russia met on April 26 in Moscow to discuss possible areas of defense and security cooperation between the two countries. Both sides agreed that the current state of Philippine-Russia defense engagement should be improved.

The meeting was between Philippine Undersecretary for Defense Cooperation, Natalio C. Ecarma III and Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Ivanovich Antonov.

During the meeting, the two officials discussed possible cooperation in the areas of military intelligence, education and training, as well as naval ship visits.

Speaking after the meeting, Undersecretary Ecarma said that he deeply appreciated the open and productive dialogue with the Russian defense officials, adding, “I came away from our meeting with the clear sense that there is much that our defense establishments can do together in the cause of peace and security.”

“Russia is an important world power and part of our region.  We are very interested in pursuing pragmatic cooperation with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation,” the Undersecretary said.

The two officials also discussed the state of the proposed Philippine-Russia Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation and expressed the hope that this would be concluded soon.

Also discussed at the meeting was the possibility of arranging a meeting sometime this year between defense officials from both countries who are responsible for these areas of cooperation. The purpose of the meeting would be to work out details of possible cooperation.

Undersecretary Ecarma is in Moscow to represent Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin at the Fifth Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS). Over 500 participants, including top defense and military officials and experts from other countries are in Moscow for the Conference, which is held annually since 2012 under the auspices of the Russian Defense Ministry. END