Canada becomes 5th nation to sign visiting forces pact with Philippines

ISTANBUL

Canada on Sunday became the fifth country to sign a visiting forces defense agreement with the Philippines, allowing the two nations to deploy military personnel in each other’s territory and expand defense collaboration.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Canadian Minister of National Defense David McGuinty signed the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) in the city of Makati after a bilateral meeting.

Teodoro said that, while information-sharing and people-to-people ties between the two countries are already “robust,” the new pact “would make that robustness enduring,” according to local media outlet ABS-CBN.

“Beyond this agreement, we recognize its strategic value of expanding cooperation in critical areas such as maritime security, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, and cyber defense capability,” he said.

Teodoro added that both nations can contribute “not only for individual security but also for collective peace and stability in the region” through these areas and said the deal would “resist attempts to redefine the norms for the selfish advantage of powerful countries.”

McGuinty said the agreement “will bring our countries closer together at a time,” adding that it is Canada’s first such defense pact with an Asian country.

The signing came after the recent Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea involving the Philippines, the US, Australia, and, for the first time, New Zealand.

This agreement marked the fifth of its kind for the Philippines, following the signing of such agreements with the US in 1998, Australia in 2007, Japan in 2024, and New Zealand in April 2025.

ISTANBUL

McGuinty said the agreement “will bring our countries closer together at a time,” adding that it is Canada’s first such defense pact with an Asian country.

The signing came after the recent Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea involving the Philippines, the US, Australia, and, for the first time, New Zealand.

This agreement marked the fifth of its kind for the Philippines, following the signing of such agreements with the US in 1998, Australia in 2007, Japan in 2024, and New Zealand in April 2025.