ASEAN Beat | Security | Southeast Asia

Poland’s President in the Philippines: Black Hawks, ASEAN, and US Defense Interests

Could Nawrocki’s visit to Manila serve to promote further Black Hawk sales across ASEAN, potentially benefiting U.S. industrial interests?

Polish President Karol Nawrocki shakes hands with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. during talks in Manila, the Philippines, Oct. 6, 2026.

President of Poland Karol Nawrocki arrived in Manila on October 5 for a three-day official visit to the Philippines. It is the first visit by a Polish president to the Philippines since diplomatic relations were established in 1973.

According to Marcin Przydacz, secretary of state and head of the International Policy Bureau of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, the visit is part of a broader Polish strategy to strengthen the country’s position among the countries of the Global South. Nawrocki described the visit as an opportunity to seek backing for Poland’s continued presence in the G20 by gaining informal support from the Philippines, which is chairing ASEAN this year. Nawrocki also described the trip in the context of a broader strategy of engaging with the Global South – a direction that has recently been highlighted in Polish foreign-policy discussions. 

There is also a military cooperation angle, raising the question of possible broader American defense interests within the Polish administration and opposition. 

In August, PZL Mielec, an aerospace manufacturer based in Poland, completed the delivery of 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to the Philippine Air Force. The Philippines had previously ordered 16 helicopters from Mielec in 2019.

PZL Mielec presents itself as a Polish company: the helicopters are manufactured in Poland and the workforce is Polish. But since 2015, PZL Mielec has been owned by Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s largest U.S. defense contractors.

This makes Nawrocki’s visit to the Philippines particularly interesting.

Former Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, now a leading opposition figure and a strongly pro-American and Eurosceptic politician, has argued that Europe is effectively helpless against Russia and that Poland should rely on the........

© The Diplomat