The Philippines and the Republic of Korea held the inaugural maritime dialogue on 21 September 2022 in the maritime city of Busan. Philippine Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Theresa Dizon-De Vega emphasized that the dialogue's session discussions on cooperation on maritime domain awareness, marine environment protection, ocean economy, and maritime security are matters of central significance to the Philippines.

As maritime nations, the inaugural PH-ROK Maritime Dialogue is a timely celebration of our shared priorities, especially as the Philippines celebrates the National Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANAMo) every September.

Co-chaired by Philippine Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Maria Angela A. Ponce and ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Southeast Asia Cecilia Chung, the annual maritime dialogue has the highest level of commitment from both the Philippine and ROK governments as both PH Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo and ROK Foreign Minister Park Jin looked forward to the convening of this dialogue and expressed hope for a substantive and productive meeting. The maritime dialogue is an important demonstration of our intention to elevate PH-ROK ties to a strategic partnership.

The 1st Philippines - Republic of Korea Maritime Dialogue was attended by Philippine delegation representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of National Defense, National Security Council, Department of Agriculture, and technical experts from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

After the inaugural dialogue, Ambassador Dizon-De Vega and Assistant Secretary Ponce also had the opportunity to meet with Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Deputy Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Song Myeong-Dal to discuss the way forward of PH-ROK cooperation on ocean economy.

The Embassy of the Philippines in the Republic of Korea looks forward to convening the Philippines-Republic of Korea Maritime Dialogue annually and watching it organically grow into a dynamic, integrated platform for discussions of all maritime-related issues. END