Germany donates drone to PCG

DRONE DONATION Philippine Coast Guard (PCCG) Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu accepts the drone donated by Germany, through its Ambassador to the Philippines Anke Reiffenstuel (center) and the German Corporation for International Cooperation Country Director Immanuel Gebhardt (right). The turnover ceremony was held at the PCG headquarters in Manila on Friday, June 10, 2022. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By Franco Jose C. Baroña, Manila Times

THE Federal Republic of Germany has donated an unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone, to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to support its capability development.

In the turnover ceremony at the PCG headquarters on Friday, PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu expressed his gratitude to the German government represented by its Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel and the German Corporation for International Cooperation Country Director Immanuel Gebhardt for the donation.

In his remarks, Admiral Abu recognized the emerging importance of unmanned systems in the performance of coast guard functions.

"More than its contribution to maritime surveillance for drug interdiction, illegal fishing operations, marine pollution and other nefarious activities, these UAV can improve PCG disaster response and relief operations particularly in damage assessment and in identifying areas where relief operations are badly needed," the PCG commandant said.

Abu said the UAV will also be utilized to provide imagery for reconnaissance purposes and generate high-resolution maps that can be used for a variety of maritime scenarios, such as rapid damage assessment of an oil spill incident or a quick survey of an area of interest for possible unlawful acts at sea.

"For these, the PCG and the whole Filipino nation are truly grateful to the German government. We are looking forward to our continued engagement and fostering a stronger partnership with our German friends," Abu said.

Marcos vows rules-based order in West PH Sea

By Catherine S. Valente, Manila Times

 

COURTESY CALLS President-elect Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. meets Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel of Germany, Ambassador Mohammed Ride El Fassi of Morocco and Ambassador Jorge Moragas of Spain in his headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Marcos was elected president in the May 2022 elections and will take his oath on June 30. PHOTOS FROM BBM MEDIA BUREAU

PRESIDENT-ELECT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has agreed to promote international rules-based order and the rule of law to maintain peace and stability in the disputed West Philippine Sea.

The commitment was made during his meeting with German Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel at his headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday, where they discussed the bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Germany.

Speaking to reporters, Reiffenstuel said she and Marcos discussed their interest in protecting the maritime sector through enforcing the rule of law.

"We exchanged and we explored our joint interest our common interest in protecting international rules based order and the rule of law that needs to be applied also in the maritime sector," Reiffenstuel said in a press briefing after her private meeting with Marcos.

"We didn't go into details, but we realized that we have a common interest to continue with our cooperation," she added.

Apart from enhancing maritime cooperation between their two countries, Reiffenstuel said she and Marcos also discussed global challenges, including climate change.

"We exchanged [views] about the ongoing bilateral cooperation and the cooperation in the international frame in the multilateral formats. We also discussed potentials for furthering cooperation not only on mutual interests but also on addressing global challenges like climate change," she said.

The envoy said that she informed Marcos about the ongoing programs of Germany to help the Philippines in addressing climate change, including their €25 million donation for climate change-related projects.

The two also talked about global food security, which has been greatly affected by the war between Russia and Ukraine.

"I informed him about the upcoming international ministerial conference on global food security. This is also [set] against the background of the impact of the Russian war against Ukraine, with regard to the challenges on global food security," she said.

Reiffenstuel said that they also tackled the safeguarding of the rule of law and protecting human rights and  also underlined the importance Germany attaches to the rule of law and safeguarding human rights, and of our continued commitment to the same," the ambassador said.

"In this context that I also mentioned, German support, contribution and funding for the United Nations joint program on human rights here in the Philippines continues," she added.

The ambassador said that they also focused their discussion on renewable energy. Among Marcos' campaign promises was the provision of lower power rates to the people.

"Renewable energies, of course, are of great importance to us, to Germany. We exchanged ideas about the experiences and the commitment, the distribution and the share of renewable energies in our two countries," she said.

Reiffenstuel said that Marcos illustrated his early commitment to renewable energy by mentioning the wind farm in Ilocos Norte, and they agreed that there is a need to continue deepening the discussions, since this is an area of mutual interest.

Aside from the German ambassador, Ambassador Jorge Moragas of Spain and Ambassador Mohammed Ride El Fassi of Morocco also paid courtesy calls on Marcos.

German Ambassador to the Philippines since December 2016

The Ambassador/Der Botschafter

Enlarge imageAmbassador Gordon Kricke(© German Embassy Manila)

Curriculum Vitae: Dr. Gordon Kricke Born 18.12.1962 in Kiel, married
1982	General qualification for university entrance
1982 - 1983	Military service
1984 - 1989	Law school
1989	First state law examination
1989 - 1993	Junior barrister
1991	Doctorare in law
1993	State bar examination
1993 - 1994	Foreign service traineeship
1994 - 1995	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, desk officer
1995 - 1998	Embassy Buenos Aires, desk officer
1998 - 2000	Embassy Maputo, Permanent Representative of the Ambassador
2000 - 2002	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, desk officer
2003 - 2005	Embassy Port-au-Prince, Ambassador
2005 - 2007	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Head of Division
2007 - 2008	Political Adviser to the EU Special Envoy to Sudan, Juba
2008 - 2009	Embassy Khartoum, Permanent Representative of the Ambassador
2009 - 2011	Embassy Mexico City, Head of the German Information Office for Latin America and Spain
2011 - 2013	Embassy Niamey, Ambassador
2013 - 2016	Head of the EU Delegation Luanda
December 2016	Embassy Manila, Ambassador

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(During Day of United Celebration in Manila October 2016)