Agreement with Canada inked ‘very soon’
AN agreement providing a legal framework for military exercises was signed yesterday by New Zealand and the Philippines.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr, who signed the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) with his counterpart, Judith Collins, in Malacañang, said a similar agreement is due to be signed “very soon” with Canada.
The Philippines has similar agreements with United States (Visiting Forces Agreement signed in 1998), Australia (SOVFA, 2007), and Japan (Reciprocal Access Agreement, or RAA, signed in July last year).
The RAA with Japan was ratified by the Senate last December. However, the agreement will have to be approved by Japan’s National Diet to make it valid and binding.
The defense department is eyeing to sign similar agreement with other countries.
Last month, the Philippine defense department said it has concluded negotiations for a SOVFA with Canada.
Through the SOVFA, the Philippines and New Zealand will pursue interoperability and enhanced exchanges to attain bilateral and collective resilience in the Indo-Pacific region.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo witnessed the SOFVA signing.
Marcos, during Collins’ courtesy call before the signing, thanked the defense minister and her delegation for their visit, and all who participated in crafting the SOFVA.
He said the Philippines and New Zealand’s partnership is very important in the face of all that is happening not just in the Asia Pacific region but in the world in general.
“Those partnerships that we have formed and that we have, the agreements that we have made, bilaterally and on a multilateral basis as well, have been extremely important,” he said.
The Philippines and New Zealand held the first round of formal SOVFA negotiations in January. The following month, the defense department announced the conclusion of the negotiations, leading to yesterday’s signing.
The pact opened the way for expanded military cooperation amid shared security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region. It allows the two nations to deploy troops on each other’s soil, making it easier for their militaries to work together.
New Zealand took part in joint maritime exercises with the Philippines, United States, Australia, and Japan for the first time last year in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have repeatedly sparred over disputed areas.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a vital trade artery, despite overlapping maritime claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, angering its neighbors.
The signing of the SOVFA follows New Zealand’s unveiling of a plan to boost defense spending by NZ$9 billion ($5 billion) over the next four years, and an aim to nearly double spending to 2% of GDP in the next eight years.
A review of New Zealand’s security capabilities in 2023 called for more military spending and stronger ties with Indo-Pacific nations to tackle issues of climate change and strategic competition between the West, and China and Russia.
The Philippines and New Zealand will also elevate their diplomatic ties to a “comprehensive partnership” in 2026, reflecting their shared interests in maritime security, disaster response, and regional stability.
CANADA PACT
Teodoro said the defense department is working to secure a “speedy presidential ratification” and Senate concurrence of the SOVFA with New Zealand.
Asked at a press conference in Makati City when the SOVFA with Canada will be signed, he said it “is tentatively scheduled soon, very soon.”
“I will wait for the proper announcements to be made officially,” he added.
Pressed if the SOVFA with Canada can be signed this quarter, Teodoro said: “Let’s keep it at very soon.”
On the signing of the SOFVA with New Zealand, Teodoro said, “We come to face with the reality in both our countries that peace does not come for free. It is a not a free dividend but must be committed to.”
“Our threats are not dissimilar, they are similar. Whether they be from challenges to the rules-based international order or to facing the challenges posed by climate change … We will increase the pace of our interactions both bilaterally and multilaterally,” he said.
Collins said the agreement “reflects the strength of New Zealand’s relationship with the Philippines, of which defense is a key element,” said Collins.
“Our militaries are already working well together, and this agreement will create the conditions for even more seamless cooperation in the defense space,” added Collins.
Collins said the agreement will ensure that the two nations will be able to work hand in hand “when urgent responses are required.”
Collins said it is important to New Zealand that all nations adhere to international rules-based order, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“We’re a maritime nation like the Philippines. We’re a nation that relies on trade routes and we have respect for the Law of the Sea. We have been involved with monitoring and making sure that the trade routes through the South China Sea and others are kept open and we do that because it is in our best interest as a small nation to show that international law matters,” said Collins.
AGREEMENTS REVIEW
Teodoro said the defense department is in the process of reviewing military agreements with other countries whose interests are not aligned with that of the Philippines.
He did not answer directly when asked if he was referring to China with which the Philippines and several other countries have conflicting claims in the South China Sea.
He also said dormant agreements with other countries are also under review.
“We have a host of existing defense agreements. Some are dormant. Some are with countries whose interests may not necessarily align with ours. So, we will review how to move forward with these agreements,” said Teodoro.
Teodoro said the defense department has around 50 or more agreements with countries. “(They are) just defense cooperation, exchanges, and the like,” he said.
“If a country, theoretically — I am not singling out any — is really misaligned with us, then it’s useless to continue having a defense agreement. It doesn’t make sense, right?” said Teodoro.
Teodoro said there is no timeline when the review will be completed. – With Reuters
