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 United States rather than Europe for its security. He was also highly critical of the EU’s SAFE program, an EU initiative providing up to 150 billion euro in loans for defense investment. Błaszczak has argued that the program could push the United States out of Europe and questioned its compatibility with Poland’s reliance on U.S. defense technology.

In July 2026, Błaszczak, together with a group of MPs with the conservative party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS), submitted a parliamentary interpellation concerning the lack of new orders for S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from PZL Mielec. The MPs warned that the end of the Philippine contract could put the future of S-70i production in Poland at risk.

Supporting PZL Mielec can be presented as supporting Polish jobs and industrial capacity, but it also directly supports the commercial interests of Lockheed Martin.

Ironically, it may be easier for the Polish president to persuade the ASEAN countries to place an order than Poland’s own Ministry of Defense.

Given the tense relationship between Nawrocki and the Polish government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, as well as Nawrocki’s alleged close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, one possible aim of the Philippine visit could be to encourage the government in Manila to consider another contract, or to promote PZL Mielec and its capabilities through the Philippines at the ASEAN level.

Given the ownership structure of PZL Mielec,  Błaszczak and Nawrocki’s political alignment, and support for stronger U.S. defense ties, the timing raises questions. Within the span of a few months, a parliamentary interpellation called for new orders for PZL Mielec, the factory completed its Philippine contract, and Poland’s president made his first-ever visit to the Philippines.

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