RTOP-12 Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir missile boat (photo : nase-sidro)
Croatian and Philippines Defence Ministers' talks on
cooperation in defence industry
Defence Minister Ante Kotromanović and Deputy Minister of
Foreign and European Affairs Joško Klisović with delegations paid an official
visit to the Philippines
from 30 September to 3 October 2012. There they held bilateral meetings of
defence ministers and political consultation of foreign ministries of the two
countries.
During a visit to the Ministry of National Defence of the
Republic of the Philippines,
Minister Kotromanović met Minister Gazmin Voltaire. During the meeting, both
sides pointed out the very good bilateral relations between Croatia and the Philippines as well as
opportunities for future development.
In line with the common interest of the two countries for
the preservation of global and regional stability through participation in
international peacekeeping missions, it was agreed that there was a scope for
strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly in the field of
military-technical cooperation, as well as in cooperation between the two
navies. In this context, Minister Kotromanović emphasized the long tradition of
Croatia
as a naval and shipbuilding country, mentioning the recent decision of the
Government on the construction of coastal patrol ships for the Croatian Navy.
RTOP-21 Šibenik missile boat (photo : Helen Krmic)
The discussions were also about the fight against piracy and
the contribution of the two countries, where the Croatian participation in
ATALANTA operation led by the EU was characterized as an important contribution
to the fight against this global problem. Philippines Defence Minister spoke
about the anti-piracy activities on its sea borders, where both ministers drew
a conclusion that in this area there was the potential for the exchange of
experience between the two navies.
Given the identified potential development of bilateral
cooperation between Croatia and Philippines in the field of military-technical,
defence and security cooperation, and cooperation between navies, education and
training and exchange of experience, the interest in finding new possibilities
of product placement of the Croatian military industry on the Philippines
market was emphasized on the meeting. Particularly, if considering the fact
that the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
the air force and the navy, have been currently in the process of modernization
and further equipping. It was also pointed out that, as part of the strategy of
the Philippines
to increase economic growth and decrease poverty, they increased budgetary
resources of the Philippine Ministry of Defence.
The Philippines
also intend to open additional opportunities in the shipbuilding portfolio
within which an important role has the construction of ships for the Philippine
Navy.
Two ministers also talked about the Croatian membership in
NATO, where Minister Kotromanović spoke about the concept of Smart Defence as a
new way of thinking of the Alliance's
member states to preserve the existing and develop new capabilities in the
defence field in times of reduced defence budgets. As a positive example, he
pointed out the Croatian-Czech training of helicopter pilots and technicians as
part of the Multinational Helicopter Initiative, which aims to standardize
training and save resources of each country participating in the training.
OB-04 Hrvatska Kostajnica patrol boat (photo : ships-forumj)
Defence Minister Gazmin has expressed a desire for sharing
experience, stressing that members of the Philippine Armed Forces could learn
from CAF service members who took part in the Homeland War, as well as later in
peacekeeping operations and missions around the world, and thus gained very
important experience and knowledge in the fight against modern threats.
The two Ministers stressed the importance of signing a Memorandum
of Understanding in the field of logistics and defence industry, which will
provide a firmer framework for further bilateral cooperation. In this context,
Minister Kotromanović invited his Philippine colleague in the return visit to
the Republic of Croatia when the aforementioned document
could be signed, which would have opened up possibilities for increased
cooperation.
During the official visit to the Republic of the
Philippines, Minister Kotromanović also visited the Philippine Coast Guard
Command and the Philippine Navy Command, where he met with the Commander, Rear
Admiral Jesus C.
Millan. The discussion on the meeting was on the organization of two navies and
on the development opportunities in the future, both in terms of organization
and in their equipping.
Along with the representatives of the Ministry of Defence
and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Croatian business delegation
composed of: Ruđer Friganović, Managing
Director of the Croatian shipbuilding - Jadranbrod, Ivica Nekić, Director of
the Alan Agency and Vladimir Koroman, Director of the Shipbuilding Institute
have also took part in the official visit to the Republic of the Philippines.
