One of the top priorities for both sides in the new level of cooperation is to strengthen cooperation in politics, security, military and defense. A few days earlier, the Philippines and Australia conducted their first joint naval exercise in the East Sea.

This move by Manila and Canberra not only opens a new era of bilateral cooperation, but also has very special significance and impact on the region, as well as the development of relations between the Philippines and Australia with China.

Despite some sporadic signs of detente, relations between Canberra and Beijing remain fundamentally troubled. Manila and Beijing have also recently been at odds over the situation in the South China Sea.

By upgrading their bilateral cooperation, Australia and the Philippines not only strengthen existing bilateral cooperation and expand the scope of cooperation, but also intentionally strengthen coordination to deal with common and individual security challenges and threats. Both have done the same with the United States and Japan. Both want to build a new pair of cards in terms of power and influence in all areas of the region.

The strategic partnership between Manila and Canberra complements the network of partnerships and strategic partnerships that each country has built in the Indo-Pacific region, promoting the quadrilateral cooperation framework between them with the US and Japan especially on political security in this region.