PHILIPPINES AND CANADA TO SIGN VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT

(Photo courtesy of TVC News)

The Department of National Defense in Manila announced Friday that negotiations for a significant defense agreement have been completed. The agreement would enable their forces to conduct joint combat exercises and increase defense engagements. Canada and the Philippines are both strong opponents of China's increasingly assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea. 

In order to support the rule of law and increase trade and investment in the Indo-Pacific, Canada and other Western countries have been stepping up their military presence there. 

In order to strengthen his nation's security against an increasingly assertive China in the disputed South China Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines has been working to expand defense connections with friendly nations. 

The Philippine defense department stated that the agreement with Canada "will foster closer collaboration between defense and military establishments, improve interoperability between forces, and facilitate more effective joint exercises and capacity-building exercises." 
Larger joint exercises, such as those in the South China Sea off the western Philippines, are anticipated to be made possible. 

The agreement's signing date was not set, but according to a Philippine official, it might take place as soon as the following few months. 

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro stated that in order to prevent China's aggressiveness, the Philippines would keep forming security ties with other friendly nations. 

According to Teodoro, China's unfriendly measures should be seen as a global concern since they may eventually limit travel in the South China Sea, which is an important international trade route that is essential for supply chains around the world. 

A legal basis for both brief foreign troop visits and extensive combat drills is provided by the Philippines' visiting forces agreements with the US and Australia. 

In July, the Philippines and Japan signed a similar agreement, which is anticipated to be approved by Japanese lawmakers by the middle of the year. Officials have been in talks with France for a similar agreement, and negotiations with New Zealand also ended lately. 

According to Teodoro, Philippine officials may want to get into agreements with other nations, such as Germany, India, and Singapore, regarding visiting forces. 

In order to protect its claimed territory and airspace, China has sent coast guard and naval fleets, as well as alleged militia ships, to almost the whole South China Sea. Territorial disputes have erupted between Beijing and Manila in the past two years, and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also have claims that conflict with China's. 

In an effort to support the rule of law and unimpeded travel in the South China Sea, Canada joined the United States, Australia, and the Philippines in August for air and naval exercises. 

China claimed to have carried out military patrols by sea and air on the same day. The Philippine military said that three Chinese navy ships followed the four-nation maneuvers, despite the fact that no clashes were reported. 

Canada has "been vocal in confronting the provocative and unlawful actions of the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea" and "will continue to do so," according to Canadian Ambassador to Manila David Hartman, who made this statement last month. 

Last year, Canada and the Philippines inked a defense cooperation deal. The Philippines was granted access to data from Canada's "Dark Vessel Detection System," which uses satellite technology to detect illicit vessels even when they turn off their location-transmitting gadgets, as part of another agreement struck in Ottawa in 2023. 

In the South China Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard has tracked Chinese coast guard ships and fishing vessels using cutting-edge Canadian equipment. 

Source: APNEWS

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