Philippines, South Korea deepen security cooperation, elevating ties to a strategic partnership

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — South Korea and the Philippines, each faced by increasingly hostile rival nations, elevated their ties to a strategic partnership on Monday, including broader defense and security cooperation between the two U.S. treaty allies.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit to the Philippines, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the upgrade in overall relations after talks in Manila.

Under the strategic partnership, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation between their coast guards. Yoon also pledged to help modernize the Philippine military.

The two leaders discussed regional issues such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea and tensions on the Korean Peninsula, they said.

Marcos said in an opening statement that “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.”

Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels have clashed repeatedly in disputed waters in the South China Sea, with Chinese ships using water cannons and dangerous maneuvers in incidents that have injured several Filipino navy personnel and damaged supply boats.

Yoon stressed the importance of peace and stability in the South China Sea, and added that the two leaders “reaffirmed that the international community will never condone North Korea’s nuclear programs and its reckless provocations, as well as its illegitimate military cooperation with Russia.”

Yoon said North Korea’s recent disclosure of a nuclear facility was likely an attempt to grab U.S. attention ahead of next month’s American presidential election.

The Philippines is the first stop on a six-day Southeast Asia tour for Yoon which will also take him to Singapore and Laos, where he will attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., second right, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, look on as Kim Jong-Uk, second left, Commissioner General of the Korea Coast Guard, and Ronnie Gil Gavan, Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, shake hands during a meeting during a meeting at the Malacanang Palace Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (Ezra Acayan/Pool Photo via AP)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., second right, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, second left, pose for pictures as Kim Jong-Uk, left, Commissioner General of the Korea Coast Guard, and Ronnie Gil Gavan, Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, hold up signed agreement during a meeting at the Malacanang Palace Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (Ezra Acayan/Pool Photo via AP)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., right, meets with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, at the Malacanang Palace Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (Ezra Acayan/Pool Photo via AP)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., right, delivers a speech during his meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Malacanang Palace Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (Ezra Acayan/Pool Photo via AP)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., right, delivers a speech during his meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Malacanang Palace Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (Ezra Acayan/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, looks at Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a meeting at the Malacanang Palace Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (Ezra Acayan/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Malacanang Palace Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (Ezra Acayan/Pool Photo via AP)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., left, meets with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Malacanang Palace Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 in Manila, Philippines. (Ezra Acayan/Pool Photo via AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A fuel spill is “highly probable” after a New Zealand navy ship grounded, caught fire and sank off the coast of Samoa, the Pacific island nation's acting prime minister said late Sunday.

All 75 people on board the HMNZS Manawanui were taken to safety on life boats. The ship, one of only nine in New Zealand's navy, was the first the country has lost at sea since World War II.

Officials in Samoa are assessing the environmental impact in the area where the ship sank on Sunday morning, acting Prime Minister Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio said in a statement.

The vessel's passengers — including civilian scientists and foreign military personnel — evacuated in “challenging conditions” and darkness, New Zealand’s Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told reporters. The vessel was about a mile from shore when it grounded on a reef and began taking on water, and it took five hours for the first survivors to reach land, he said.

Authorities in Samoa said a few passengers were treated for minor injuries after some walked across the reef to safety.

New Zealand will hold a court of inquiry into the loss of the ship. The cause of the accident is not known, but Defence Minister Judith Collins told 1News on Monday that she had been told a loss of power to the vessel had led to its grounding.

The specialist dive and hydrographic vessel had been in service for New Zealand since 2019, but was 20 years old and had previously belonged to Norway, Collins said. It was surveying a reef off the coast of Upolu, Samoa’s most populous island, when it ran aground on the reef.

Photos and videos taken from the shore appeared to show the ship listing before disappearing completely below the waves, with a large plume of smoke rising where it sank. Collins said Sunday that she did not expect the vessel could be salvaged.

“This is a ship that unfortunately is pretty much gone,” she told reporters.

There was “a lot of fuel” on the ship and efforts had turned to assessing the potential environmental impact, Collins told Radio New Zealand Monday. New Zealand “would obviously have to front up” if there was a spill, she added.

The state of New Zealand’s aging military hardware has prompted warnings from the defense agency, which in a March report described the navy as “extremely fragile,” with ships idle due to problems retaining the staff needed to service and maintain them.

Golding said the HMNZS Manawanui underwent its usual maintenance before the deployment. The ship’s captain was an experienced commander who had worked on the vessel for two years, he said.

Smoke rises from the sinking HMNZS Manawanui in Upolu, Samoa, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2022. (Dave Poole via AP)

This image released by New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), shows HMNZS Manawanui at the Three Kings islands off the coast New Zealand, on Dec. 1, 2023. (Petty Officer Chris Weissenborn/NZDF via AP)

In this image released by New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), HMNZS Manawanui arrives in Funafuti Lagoon, Tuvalu, on Sept. 7, 2022. (PO Christopher Weissenborn/NZDF via AP)