Canada and the Philippines are close to finalizing an agreement that would allow their troops to be deployed on each other's soil. This move comes amid growing concerns over China's assertiveness in the South China Sea.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Canadian Ambassador David Hartman in November 2024. Manila, Philippines — Canada and the Philippines are in the final stages of negotiating a pact to allow them to deploy troops on each other’s soil, the Canadian envoy to Manila said Sunday.
Manila already has similar visiting forces agreements with the United States and Japan, and is also in talks with France and New Zealand in the face of China’s growing assertion of claims to the South China Sea.“We are in the final stages of negotiating the agreement which will enable us to have deeper cooperation and more substantive participation in training to build capacity,” Canada’s ambassador to Manila, David Hartman, said in a statement to Agence France Presse .
“We are hopeful that the signing and ratification of the agreement by both governments can be expected before the end of 2025,” he added. Canadian officials held discussions last month with counterparts from the Philippine defence and foreign departments, he said. Hartman said the agreement would allow for future participation by Canadian troops in large-scale joint military exercises held every year between the Philippines and the United States.The Canadian navy has taken part in recent months in several patrols in the South China Sea with the US, Australia, the Philippines and Japan to assert freedom of navigation and flights in a strategic waterway claimed almost in whole by Beijing.
Canada Philippines Troop Deployments South China Sea Military Cooperation
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