European Union announces 1 billion-peso maritime security package to the Philippines

The European Union (EU) has announced a 1.05 billion-peso, or €15 million, non-lethal maritime security assistance package to the Philippines to enhance its capabilities to detect and monitor foreign

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro at the sidelines of the 59th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila. Official handout.

Manuel Mogato | July 25, 2026

MANILA — The European Union (EU) has announced a 1.05 billion-peso, or €15 million, non-lethal maritime security assistance package to the Philippines to enhance its capabilities to detect and monitor foreign intrusions.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas announced the funding when she attended the 59th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila. EU is among the bloc’s strategic partners.

Kallas said the maritime security package was the first-ever assistance measure under the European Peace Facility for the Philippines.

“The first measure to be implemented in the Indo-Pacific region marks a major milestone in the European Union-Philippines security and defense cooperation,” Kallas said in a statement. (Also read: Europe and NATO’s interests in the Indo-Pacific region)

The assistance would improve the Armed Forces’ maritime domain awareness capabilities, particularly the Navy and Air Force. (Also read: US promises $100 million in military aid to the Philippines)

For instance, the Philippine Navy would increase its capability to detect, monitor, and analyze illegal activities within the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zones.

It would also develop a more comprehensive maritime picture, enhance early warning, and support more effective coordination and response by naval and maritime security forces.

“More than an investment in capabilities, the assistance measure is an investment in the European Union-Philippines partnership, in mutual trust, in regional stability, and in a shared commitment to peace and security,” Kallas added.

The EU and the Philippines held their first security and defense dialogue in June 2025, which advanced collaboration on maritime security, cybersecurity, hybrid threats, foreign information manipulation, and interference.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro thanked the European Union for providing a maritime security package when he held a meeting with Kallas on the sidelines of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).

“This initiative reflects the growing strategic partnership between the Philippines and the EU, and underscores the shared commitment to a peaceful, stable, and rules-based maritime order founded on international law,” a defense department spokesman, Arsenio Andolong, said in a statement.

“The non-lethal maritime surveillance and monitoring equipment, together with capacity-building and specialized training that the EU will provide to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), will help enhance the country’s Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and enable the AFP to monitor better the activities across the Philippines’ maritime zones, improve interoperability with like-minded partners, and support the protection of our national security interests and sovereign rights.”