October 9, 2025
MANILA – Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has invited Ireland to conduct a maritime cooperative activity (MCA) with the Philippines, an exercise that has traditionally been held in the West Philippine Sea amid ongoing Chinese aggression.
READ: Chinese Navy watches PH-US joint drills in WPS
Teodoro extended the invitation as Emma Hickey, Ireland’s ambassador to the Philippines, paid an introductory call at the Department of National Defense (DND) headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo on Monday
“Secretary Teodoro invited Ireland to conduct a maritime cooperative activity with the Philippines as a manifestation of both countries’ commitment to uphold a rules-based international order,” the DND said in a statement on Wednesday.
This is in line with Teodoro and Hickey’s discussions on opportunities to enhance both countries’ defense capabilities through maritime security and peacekeeping cooperation.
The invitation for the MCA came despite the absence of a formal defense cooperation framework between Dublin and Manila.
The Philippines often conducts MCAs in the West Philippine Sea with its only treaty ally, the United States, as well as with like-minded nations such as Japan and Australia, which have a Visiting Forces Agreement with the country.
Such moves are conducted as part of countermeasures to Beijing’s mounting aggression aimed at asserting sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea. However, the landmark 2015 international tribunal ruling effectively dismissed such sweeping territorial claims in favor of Manila’s sovereign rights.
Diplomatic relations between Manila and Dublin were established in July 1984.