Australia hopes to sign SOFA with RP within 6 months

Australia looks forward to the signing of a status of forces agreement (SOFA) with the Philippines within six months.

Speaking at a journalists’ reunion hosted by the Australian Embassy on Thursday, Ambassador Tony Hely said Canberra will be able to finalize the SOFA in one to three months.

"In Australia’s case, we can do that by administrative procedure," he said.

"In the Philippines, it will pass through the Senate, and we hope that we will be able to achieve that process in the Philippines in the next six months," Hely said.

He is optimistic that the Philippines-Australia defense agreement will have a smooth sailing when it is submitted to the Senate for ratification, he added.

Asked if the SOFA with Australia is similar to a defense treaty between the Philippines and the United States, Hely said it is different since it will involve only a small number of Australian troops to be deployed to the Philippines to train with Filipino soldiers.

"This is an entirely reciprocal agreement," he said.

"It will provide the administrative and legal basis, and we will have defense people in each other’s country on training, policy advice or exercises," he added.

Hely said Australia will send about 100 military personnel to conduct training exercises and provide policy support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines in areas like logistics and acquisition and personnel policy.

"We have been talking to each other, looking at what we have been doing in terms of military efficiency and defense capability planning," he said.

Hely said Australian troops will not engage in counter-terrorism training in the Philippines.

"We do have a couple of training exercises here and one in the area of naval exercise, but our involvement in counterterrorism is simply in capacity-building so we are helping for example the PNP (Philippine National Police) develop its law enforcement capacity," he said.