Philippines, France sign visiting forces agreement

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and France signed on Friday, March 27 (March 26 in Paris), a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), a deal that would make it easier for either country to deploy its troops to each other’s territory. 

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. is in France for a series of engagements, including a keynote speech at the Paris Defense and Strategy Forum and a meeting with his French counterpart, Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans Catherine Vautrin.

Teodoro and Vautrin signed the SOVFA following a bilateral meeting. 

“We were able to reach this stage in record time because of the fact that our two countries have had years of trust and confidence in working and dealing with one another. And we have shared values, shared objectives, and shared visions for both our future generations and the current generation,” Teodoro said in a speech during the SOVFA signing. The Department of National Defense provided a recording of the speech to media in Manila.

France is the latest in a growing list of countries with visiting forces agreements with the Philippines. Many of the deals were negotiated and signed under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

Manila has a long-standing Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with its treaty-ally the United States. In 2012, a SOVFA with Australia, which has since become a strategic partner as well, was signed. 

Under Marcos, a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Japan was signed. Combat troops from Japan are set to join Filipino and US soldiers during the upcoming Balikatan military exercise. It would be the first time for Japanese combat personnel to step foot on Philippine soil since World War II. 

Teodoro has also overseen the signing of SOVFAs with Canada and New Zealand. Manila is just about to begin negotiations on a SOVFA with the United Kingdom. 

Speaking at the agreement’s signing still, Teodoro said the SOVFA with Paris was a “function of stewardship in several things” in improving the two countries’ defense capabilities, and in “protecting the international order under the regime of international law to include fundamental peremptory treaty in the world in 1982, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.” 

Even as the SOVFA was being negotiated, France has sailed alongside the Philippine Navy in the West Philippine Sea for joint military drills. France is also expected to send Navy ships for Balikatan 2026, the largest joint exercise between the Philippines and the United States.

France is among the countries that have been vocal supporters of the Philippines in the face of China’s encroachment in waters where it should enjoy entitlements and has claims in the South China Sea. 

Teodoro echoed his message in his keynote speech in Paris on March 27, emphasizing the improve of “cross-regional cooperation in security and defense” and “convergence.” 

“By convergence, we do not necessarily mean combined operations of Philippine troops and French troops in one area, but both of us perhaps even working separately in areas where we have capabilities and influence for a shared goal and purpose,” he said. 

The expansion of the Philippines’ defense ties has been a conscious push of the Marcos administration, especially in the face of a growingly belligerent China in the South China Sea. At the same time, Marcos has said he wants a “reset” of bilateral relations with Beijing, following years of tensions both at sea and in the diplomatic space.  – Rappler.com