Philippines, Canada nearing visiting forces deal
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Canada 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 yesterday.
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,” Canadian Ambassador 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 defense 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.
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