The Philippines and France on Thursday signed a key defense pact allowing their forces to train together, as Manila builds security alliances in the face of an increasingly assertive China in the South China Sea.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and French Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans Catherine Vautrin formalized the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) during a bilateral meeting in Paris. The deal marks the Philippines’ first such agreement with a European country.
“The Agreement will greatly bolster bilateral cooperation and offer an adequate level of legal protection to joint activities between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the French Armed Forces,” the two sides said in a joint statement.
The Philippines has similar agreements with the United States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Canada, while negotiations are ongoing with the United Kingdom. The deal with France is the fourth concluded under Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as Manila seeks to deter China’s aggression.
Following the signing of a Letter of Intent in December 2023 to strengthen bilateral defense ties, Teodoro and Vautrin noted steady progress in relations. Since then, both countries have held regular discussions, conducted joint naval and disaster response exercises, facilitated port visits, and expanded exchanges involving military delegations and education.
During their meeting, the two officials reaffirmed their commitment to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea. They also discussed security developments in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe, and called for “the peaceful resolution of disputes and the strengthening of supply chain resilience in the context of crisis.”
Teodoro was also in Paris to attend the Paris Defence and Strategy Forum, where he delivered a keynote address and sought to expand defense cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other European partners.
