Relationship dossier
Australia
Philippines
Relationship assessment
Australia and the Philippines have deepened defense, maritime-security and development cooperation.
Australia toward Philippines
+55The Australian government has expanded defense and maritime-security cooperation with the Philippines, including joint maritime activities, and provides development assistance. The two governments established a Strategic Partnership in 2023.
Philippines toward Australia
+55The Philippine government has pursued closer defense and maritime-security cooperation with Australia, including joint maritime activities, and established a Strategic Partnership with Australia in 2023.
Overall relationship
+55The relationship is underpinned by an expanding strategic partnership, practical defense and maritime-security cooperation, and Australian development assistance. These durable cooperative features support a substantially positive assessment, while the partnership is not a mutual-defense treaty.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Australia and the Philippines have expanded defense and maritime-security cooperation, including joint maritime activities and a 2023 Strategic Partnership. Australia also provides development assistance to the Philippines. The relationship is substantially cooperative, though the partnership does not amount to a mutual-defense treaty.
Key developments
Australia and the Philippines established a Strategic Partnership, broadening cooperation across areas including defense and security.
The two countries conducted a joint maritime activity in the South China Sea.
Major uncertainties
- The long-term scope and implementation of the Strategic Partnership are unclear.
- The future scale of joint maritime and defense activities is uncertain.