Foreign relations of the Philippines
Philippine international affairs are influenced by ties to its Southeast Asian neighbors, China, the United States, and the Middle East.
It has been a supporter of East Timor since the latter's independence and has expanded trade links with its traditional allies Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
The Republic of the Philippines considers itself a staunch ally of the United States and has supported many points of American foreign policy.
With a robust relationship to the United States, the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sought to establish closer ties to its earlier colonizer, Spain.
This was inspired by the attendance of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía at the June 12, 1998 celebration honoring the centennial of the Philippines' independence from Spain.
In recent years, the Philippines attaches great importance in its relations with China, and has established significant cooperation with the country.
As part of a UN peacekeeping operation, Philippine Army General Jaime de los Santos became the first commander of troops responsible for maintaining order in East Timor.
The Philippines is in tension with rival international claimants to various land and water territories in the South China Sea.
She noted the Philippines was interested in developing the cooperation with Azerbaijan in different areas, including energy, science and technologies.
In September 2014, the Prime Minister of Bhutan visited the Philippines and the Asian Development Bank headquarters in Manila.
[176] In April 2009, The Philippines and Brunei signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that sought to strengthen their bilateral cooperation in the fields of agricultural trade, innovation, and investments.
[177] The MOU further strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two Southeast Asian countries, particularly in the fields of agriculture and farm-related trade and investments.
[192] Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and his 27 delegates arrived in the Philippines for a three-day state visit on November 10, 2003, at Villamor Air Base in Pasay.
There are about 300 Filipinos living in Nepal, mainly missionaries, professionals, skilled workers, volunteers, or spouses of Nepalese or other nationals as of March 2011.
[196] The Philippines was among the 138 countries that voted in favor of the United Nations resolution recognizing Palestine as a non-member state.
The Philippines highlighted untapped potential, despite remote geographical position, for developing trade and economic cooperation, especially between Filipino and Uzbek financial institutions.
[211] Equatorial Guinea supported the Philippines's bid for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.
likewise expressed Philippine interest in developing facilities for seaports to improve cargo handling and delivery.
[215] The Republic of Ghana has opened its consulate in the Philippines to extend and render assistance to Ghanaians and help maintain relations between the two countries.
Sweden's cooperation with the Philippines focuses on issues concerning the environment, human rights, good governance, training, and assistance to non-government organizations (NGOs).
Technical, financial and other forms of assistance to the Philippines began in the late 1940, as the country recovered from the ravages of World War II.
