What to know: Philippines' VFA talks with New Zealand, Canada, France

MANILA, Philippines — Manila is currently in talks to allow military forces from New Zealand, Canada and France to train in the Philippines, with defense officials expecting to finalize at least two of these Visiting Forces Agreements (VFAs) before the year ends.

New Zealand and the Philippines could see a deal as early as the second quarter of the year, while the VFA with Canada is in its "final" stage, with the Canadian embassy saying ratification is expected before the end of 2025. Meanwhile, the French government submitted its first draft of the agreement to the Philippines in October 2024.

Beyond these three countries, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro has said that he aims to secure "as many as we can" of these military agreements to boost the country's defense partnerships at a time of Beijing's growing assertion of claims in the South China Sea.

What do we know so far about these upcoming VFAs? 

What are VFAs?

A Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is a bilateral agreement that establishes the framework for one country's military personnel to operate within another's borders. It defines the rights and responsibilities of visiting troops, covering issues like jurisdiction and logistical procedures, among others.

Currently, the Philippines maintains similar — but not identical — VFAs with the United States and Australia, while having a different arrangement with Japan through a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA). 

The Philippines' VFA with Australia, for instance, includes specific provisions on the size of visiting forces and a clearer process for resolving jurisdictional issues through a joint civilian committee, while Japan's RAA gives stronger criminal jurisdiction to Philippine authorities over visiting forces compared to the VFA with the US. 

The Philippines' VFA with the US took effect in 1999, while its agreement with the Australia took effect in 2012. 

With at least three new VFAs in the pipeline, Teodoro said that all these deals essentially "follow the same mold."

Here's where the negotiations stand with each country: 

3 VFAs in the pipeline

New Zealand

Defense officials and other representatives of the Philippines and New Zealand completed the final round of negotiations for the VFA on February 18. 

Ratification of the VFA could come as early as the second quarter of the year, according to the Department of National Defense (DND).

“After finalizing the text of the Agreement, both sides expressed optimism toward the signing of the Agreement in the second quarter of 2025,” the DND said in a statement.

At a February 4 event with the ambassador of New Zealand, Teodoro indicated that the VFA with New Zealand would likely "follow the same pattern" as the Philippines' existing agreement with Australia.

The DND said the military deal between the two countries would bolster their defense ties and enable the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New Zealand Defense Forces to hold exercises on each other's soil. 

Canada 

Meanwhile, the Philippines' VFA with Canada is expected to reach ratification before the end of 2025. 

Canada's Ambassador to Manila, David Hartman, told Agence France-Presse, "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."  

Hartman added that both sides are "hopeful that the signing and ratification of the agreement by both governments can be expected before the end of 2025."

The Canadian embassy also confirmed that "final steps are now being taken to complete a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SoVFA)" between the two countries. 

France

While the final timeline remains undetermined, French Ambassador Marie Fontanel provided an update during a February 23 press conference aboard the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle during its historic first visit to Manila. 

"We were supposed to issue a first draft, which we did, and we transmitted to the Philippine authorities our first draft of such a visiting forces agreement last October," Fontanel said. "We are currently now waiting for the Philippine authorities to come back to us in order to be able to officially open the negotiations." 

In December 2023, the official visit of French Minister of Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu to the Philippines resulted in a letter of intent with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro to establish a “stronger defense partnership in all areas of strategic training and industrial domains.”

RELATED: France backs Philippines on South China Sea in high-level talks  

Growing defense partnership 

Manila is seeking these defense agreements amid escalating tensions with China in the South China Sea, where harassment has expanded from Filipino fishing boats and Coast Guard vessels to threats in the skies above the contested waters. 

Just last week, what the Philippine Coast Guard called China's "most dangerous" act yet took place when a Chinese navy helicopter flew within three meters of a Philippine government aircraft carrying journalists and Coast Guard personnel over Scarborough Shoal.

The helicopter's propeller wash nearly destabilized the plane in what could have "led to disaster," PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela said.

China has also maintained a rotating fleet of Coast Guard patrol ships in the West Philippine Sea since January 4, asserting its presence in waters where the Philippines has sovereign rights as part of its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

"Hopefully, we want serious phase of negotiations with Canada to go faster. Also France. As many as possible... We need to interoperate," Teodoro said at the February 4 event.

"The Philippines Armed Forces needs to train with other armed forces because the dimensions of conflict are changing," he added.