Philippines, France agree to ramp up defence ties
- The boost to bilateral defence cooperation includes seeking authority from leaders of both countries to negotiate a status of visiting forces agreement
- The Philippines has been ramping up military ties with several countries in a bid to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea
The Philippines and France agreed on Saturday to ramp up military ties, including possible negotiations to allow soldiers from each country into the other’s territory.
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro signed a letter of intent in Manila to boost bilateral defence cooperation.
“We intend to take concrete steps to levelling up and making more comprehensive our defence cooperation,” Teodoro told a joint press conference. That included seeking authority from their leaders to negotiate a status of visiting forces agreement, he said.
The Philippines has such agreements with the United States and Australia, and recently initiated talks with Japan for a reciprocal access agreement.
Neither Teodoro nor Lecornu provided a timeline for the start of talks on the visiting forces agreement.
It was part of the letter of intent signed by the pair to “raise the level of interaction and to consolidate their exchanges through practical cooperation”, a joint statement said.
