Policy paper

Joint framework for the enhanced partnership between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of the Philippines, March 2025

Published 8 March 2025

Paragraph I: Principles and purpose 

1. The Enhanced Partnership between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) and the Republic of the Philippines takes as its foundation a shared commitment to an open, inclusive, and rules-based international order that is governed by international law and informed by the principles of multilateralism, equity, and justice; and to a free and open Indo-Pacific region that supports their common security and prosperity. The UK and the Philippines restate their respect for democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms. They reaffirm their commitments under the Charter of the United Nations, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific; and their support for the shared values expressed therein.

2. In August 2023, the Foreign Secretaries of the UK and the Philippines met and recognised the increasingly close ties and deepening bilateral relations between the UK and the Philippines. They committed to elevating the bilateral UK-Philippines relationship through a Joint Framework that will set out how they will collectively deliver on the vision of the Enhanced Partnership.

3. The Enhanced Partnership Joint Framework will be driven by specific sectoral dialogues and overseen by the Strategic Dialogue. There are currently five sectoral dialogues: the Joint Defence Committee; the Maritime Dialogue; the Joint Committee for Science and Technology; the Climate and Environment Dialogue, and the Joint Economic and Trade Committee. The number and focus of sectoral dialogues may be amended with the mutual approval of both participants, and formalised through the Strategic Dialogue.

4. The sectoral dialogues and Strategic Dialogue will:

a) track progress against jointly decided actions, promote accountability and lessons learned

b) enable the exchange of views on emerging issues and needs and

c) jointly decided priorities and actions

5. The Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the Philippines commit to delivering an ambitious Enhanced Partnership through this Framework.

The Enhanced Partnership will:

a) strengthen foreign policy, maritime security, and defence cooperation that promotes a stable and peaceful international order, based on international law

b) enhance two-way trade and investment that promotes inclusive and sustainable growth, economic development, and mutual prosperity

c) strengthen climate, nature and biodiversity partnerships, enhancing climate resilience and adaptation, halting and reversing nature and biodiversity loss, and accelerating the green transition

d) develop science, technology, and health collaborations that deliver real-life impact, and that address common challenges and

e) promote shared democratic values, including the strengthening of democratic political institutions, the protection and promotion of human rights at home and abroad, and media freedom; and promote strong and increasing people-to-people links, including through education, that support and underpin all their engagements

Paragraph II: Foreign policy, defence, security, maritime 

1. The UK and Philippines are committed to fostering an open, inclusive, and rules-based international order that is governed by international law. They will continue to stand up for the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful resolution of disputes. The UK-Philippines cooperation will adhere to internationally accepted norms and international law and align with commitments under relevant bilateral and multilateral security frameworks.  

2. The UK and the Philippines will discuss common international security and multilateral priorities and strengthen coordination in multilateral fora such as the UN to promote international law and strengthen their collective response to current and future global challenges. 

3. The UK and the Philippines agree on the importance of promoting a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region that is free and open, and embraces key principles such as ASEAN’s unity and centrality. The UK welcomes ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and supports its implementation. The UK and the Philippines commit to strengthening the ASEAN–UK Partnership and welcome strong progress on delivery of the current ASEAN–UK Plan of Action. The Philippines welcomes the UK’s commitment to playing its full role as a Dialogue Partner including its bid for membership of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus.

4. As maritime nations, the UK and the Philippines will continue to promote a free and open maritime order based on international law, in particular the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They reaffirm UNCLOS as the legal framework that governs all activities in the oceans and seas, and promote the peaceful settlement of disputes. They recognise that the findings of the 2016 Arbitral Award are binding on the parties to that dispute. They will work together to promote maritime safety and security in the South China, including through cooperation between leading research and academic institutions. They underline their ambition to further enhance their cooperation on maritime security, including on maritime law, maritime domain awareness, strategic stability, a sustainable marine environment, and other related areas as may be determined by both countries. 

5. The UK will offer its expertise in supporting the Philippines in delivering against its Comprehensive Archipelagic Defence Concept strategy including through technical cooperation programmes to enhance Philippines’ Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and hydrography capabilities. In addition, the UK will offer broader maritime cooperation, including strategic communications capacity building to support the Philippines’ development of maritime campaigns and strengthen cross-government communication and coordination; also, to share UK protocols and practices on crisis preparedness to help strengthen Philippines’ contingency planning and crisis response, including to incidents requiring a maritime response.

6. The UK and the Philippines will also work together on an intelligence-led fishing port security project to reinforce implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), supporting Philippines’ efforts to tackle Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing, including by extending an invitation for the Philippines to join the IUU Fishing Action Alliance.

7. As set out in their bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation, which was signed in London on 11 January 2024 and took effect on 30 July 2024, the UK and the Philippines will work together to deliver bilateral defence engagements across the air, land, maritime, space and cyber domains.      

8. The UK will also work with the Philippines to build military capability through provision of international defence training in the UK, in the Philippines, and in the Indo-Pacific region. This will focus on developing specialist skills and professional military education for future commanders.

9. The UK and the Philippines will also promote subject matter exchanges on areas such as cyber defence, maritime security, military medicine, geospatial intelligence, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response operations,  strategic communications on maritime issues, countering foreign interference and malign influence, and United Nations peacekeeping.

10. The UK and the Philippines will seek to promote defence procurement opportunities to the benefit of both countries, through a separate Implementing Arrangement.

11. The UK and the Philippines will continue collaborating to disrupt modern slavery, human trafficking, fraud and other serious and organised crime impacting the UK and the Philippines, through partnership working, intelligence sharing and capacity building. As founding members of the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC), the UK and the Philippines will focus on curbing the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), enhancing the capacity of the Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation, and supporting law enforcement partners towards better detection, deterrence, prevention, and prosecution of perpetrators. They will also continue to work together, including through the Manila Dialogue and with civil society, to promote prevention, safeguarding and after-care, including psycho-social support and family reintegration interventions for children who are victim-survivors of OSAEC.  

12. The UK’s and the Philippines’ cyber security collaboration will strengthen both nations’ resilience, boost security for citizens, industry and critical national infrastructure, and enhance their cooperation to disrupt and deter cyber threats. This will include working together to strengthen the capacity of the Philippine system to develop robust cyber prevention and response systems, and to support implementation of the Philippines’ National Cybersecurity Action Plan, in particular through the development of a Cyber Security Policy Framework and Cybersecurity Manual. It will also involve working together on cyber-crime deterrence, sharing threat information as appropriate.

13. The UK and the Philippines will work together to counter the global terrorist threat and reduce the risk to their countries from terrorist attacks by strengthening their ability to detect, deter and disrupt extremist groups. The UK will support Philippine law enforcement agencies to strengthen their ability to detect, deter and disrupt extremist terrorist groups operating in and through the Philippines. This will include work to build capacity for counter terrorism investigations, strengthen Philippine first response to terrorist attacks as well as support for enhanced regional cooperation.

Paragraph III: Trade and investment and economic development 

1. The UK and the Philippines bilateral trade in goods and services reached £3bn in 2023, the highest it has ever been. Together, the UK and the Philippines will work to further boost bilateral trade in goods and services and two-way investments through the priorities the UK and the Philippines agreed at their Economic Dialogue in May 2023:

• grow bilateral trade, addressing market access barriers and jointly promoting the UK’s Development Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS)
• partner in key sectors to drive growth and exports
• drive responsible, transparent inward investment into the Philippines, including through British Investment Partnerships and growing UK private sector investment and
• unlock market access barriers and promote an enabling business environment

2. Going forward, the UK and the Philippines will upgrade the existing economic dialogue to a UK-Philippines Joint Economic Committee (JETCO), which will seek to address market access barriers and increase trade in key sectors. The JETCO will be co-chaired by the UK Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security and the Philippine Undersecretary for the International Trade Group.

3. The JETCO will focus on increasing trade and investment opportunities in renewable energy, agriculture, infrastructure and technology, and promoting inclusive and sustainable growth. These are areas of strong mutual interest where UK and Philippine companies are well-placed to play an even stronger role.

4. Building on recent successes, the UK and the Philippines will also continue to support private investment into their respective markets, including in the technology and food sectors.

5. Through British Investment Partnerships (BIP), the UK and the Philippines will partner to help mobilise increased investment and expertise into resilient infrastructure, including renewable energy, in the Philippines.

6. They will make good use of the £5bn of UK Export Finance (UKEF) export financing and guarantees available to support the purchase of British goods and services in the Philippines. They will finalise and implement the Government-to-Government financing arrangement to support this resilience and security of their supply chains and of their critical national infrastructure.

7. The UK-Philippines economic partnership will support legislative and regulatory reforms to reduce market access barriers, improve ease of doing business and support the continued opening of secure, transparent Philippines markets. This includes cooperation on policies that promote responsible data sharing, digital transformation, and innovation while ensuring strong consumer and financial sector resilience.

8. The UK and the Philippines will continue to work together to build the resilience and security of our supply chains and of our critical infrastructure.

9. The UK and the Philippines will continue to work together at an ASEAN level, where the Philippines serves as country coordinator for ASEAN-UK Economic Relations, to support ASEAN economic integration and mobilise more international finance into Southeast Asia.

10. The UK and the Philippines will explore increased collaboration on critical minerals, focusing on research collaborations around sustainable mineral resource development and sharing Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards in the mining industry, recognising the Philippines as a mineral-rich country that plays an important role in the supply chains of clean energy technologies and key goods. 

11. They will establish and strengthen cooperation on industry development and investment promotion centered on integrating Philippine companies and sectors in the supply chain of high technology manufacturing companies in the UK.

Paragraph IV: Climate, environment and resilience

1. The UK and the Philippines will work together to enhance the resilience of the Philippines’ economy, ecosystems and vulnerable communities, to adapt to the unavoidable consequences of climate change, to sustainably manage the environment and to preserve biodiversity. The UK and the Philippines will focus on climate change adaptation in marine and coastal areas, and on terrestrial and marine biodiversity conservation, including through supporting the swift operationalisation of the Philippines’ National Adaptation Plan. They will also work together to tackle plastic pollution and explore targeted potential collaboration in areas such as research and development, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, energy security and diversification, and sustainable financing.

2. The UK and the Philippines will work together as co-chairs of the Energy Transition Council in the Philippines, to make clean energy the most affordable and reliable power option and to accelerate the clean energy transition. The UK and the Philippines will share expertise, including on wind power where the UK is the global leader in installed capacity, to strengthen energy security in the Philippines.

3. The UK and the Philippines will seek to accelerate the flow of transparent, sustainable, green finance into the Philippines from both the public and private sectors. UK support to the UNDP Climate Finance Network will focus on climate expenditure tagging and South-South knowledge sharing and capacity building activities including the potential development of local carbon markets. The UK will continue to work with the multilateral development banks to ensure that they are maximising opportunities to leverage their balance sheets and to support the Philippines’ development priorities on the green transition and blue economy.

4. Recognising the Philippines’ particular vulnerability to natural disasters, the UK and the Philippines will continue to work together to mitigate their impacts and quickly respond to humanitarian crises. The UK and the Philippines will also work to scale up the use of different forms of disaster risk finance, including through the new “Global Shield” programme, which can include subsidy for access to insurance.

Paragraph V: Science, technology and health

1. Recognising that science, research, innovation and technology are critical aspects of their future security and economic prosperity, and learning from the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK and the Philippines decide to strengthen their collaboration on cutting-edge research.

2. They will promote research and development opportunities between public and private sector organisations in their two countries, fostering innovation, capacity building, sharing of expertise, and the translation of research into real world impact.

3. The Joint Committee on Science and Technology established by the Philippine Department of Science and Technology and UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will oversee implementation of their bilateral, Science, Technology and innovation Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019, promoting research partnerships across health, climate, environment, and agriculture. In particular, the UK’s International Science Partnerships Fund will support opportunities for UK and Philippines researchers to develop science, technology and Innovation partnerships. This includes the £21m One Health for Pandemic Preparedness and Antimicrobial Resistance programme. 

4. The UK will continue to share its experience on technology transfer, including through capacity building for effective policies supporting research to market activities; commercialisation of research by innovators (including through the Leaders in Innovation Fellowship); and translation of science into policy. This will contribute to stimulating job creation, mobilisation of finance into start-ups, and science-based solutions for development problems.

5. The UK and the Philippines have a growing partnership in health, deepened by their shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK and the Philippines will share expertise on health systems, research and innovation to support the delivery of Universal Healthcare. To support health care workers and leaders in the Philippines, the UK will offer access to health programmes including the FCDO Health Systems Connect programme delivered via the NHS Consortium for Global Health (policy review, knowledge exchanges, workshops and learning visits).

6. The UK and the Philippines recognise the pivotal role Overseas Filipino Workers play in the UK’s National Health Service. The UK and the Philippines will work together to implement the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed in October 2021 on the recruitment of Filipino healthcare professionals including through regular Joint Committee Meetings. This will ensure that the recruitment of healthcare workers continues to conform with international standards and best practices, as well as continues to support the wellbeing and professional development of Filipino Health Care Workers in the UK. It will further enhance the strong working relationship between the two countries to the mutual benefits of both sides as envisaged in this Memorandum of Understanding.

Paragraph VI: People-to-people links, democracy and peace

1. People-to-people links underpin all aspects of the bilateral relationship. Approximately 20,000 British people live and work in the Philippines, and 200,000 Filipinos live and work in the UK. The two countries will collaborate to provide high quality consular support to those in need including through ratification and implementation of the recently negotiated Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

2. Education is a key feature of the bilateral relationship. The UK and the Philippines will work together to bolster learning and improve access to education and attainment from under-represented sectors of society. There will be a focus on promoting foundational learning, supporting out-of-school girls and children with disabilities, tackling barriers to digital skills and employment, and enabling the safe use of educational technologies. This includes a UK-supported regional programme offering scholarships to Southeast Asian women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

3. The UK and the Philippines will work together to encourage and facilitate student exchanges, for example through the UK government’s prestigious Chevening Scholarships scheme. The UK will support the development of transnational education partnerships, particularly in subject areas critical for Philippine national development.

4. Through collaboration between the British Council and the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Philippines and the UK will build networks, develop markets, and promote cooperation in the creative industries sector including cultural exchanges and festivals.

5. The UK and the Philippines are committed to advancing gender equality in politics, business and society as a whole. This includes work to promote women’s political participation, combat the trafficking and sexual abuse of children, and recognize and protect LGBTQ+ rights.

6. Through partnering alongside other countries and organisations as part of a new Global Alliance, the UK and the Philippines will promote children’s care reform around the world. They will work together to advocate for family-based care and a gradual end to the use of institutions, including by committing to the Global Charter and promoting its implementation.

7. The UK and the Philippines will work together to defend and promote their shared democratic values, including the strengthening of democratic political institutions, the protection and promotion of human rights at home and abroad, and support for the rule of law and media freedom.

8. The UK and the Philippines will continue to cooperate to support the Philippines’ peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). This includes support for the development of parliamentary institutions, empowering women to play a central role in politics, peace and security, and promoting active citizen engagement in the region.

FOREIGN, COMMONWEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
By:
THE RT. HON. DAVID LAMMY
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Date:

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
By: 
ENRIQUE A. MANALO
Secretary for Foreign Affairs
Date: