Canada, Philippines take ‘next step’ with joint forces pact amid China concerns

The Philippines and Canada are set to sign a visiting forces agreement permitting joint drills and troop deployments on each other’s soil amid China’s expanding regional influence.

Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty will be in Manila on Sunday to hold bilateral meetings with Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr and sign the agreement, according to an advisory released by the Philippine Department of National Defence on Wednesday.

The signing of the agreement follows steps by Manila and Ottawa to deepen their security relations since sealing a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation in January last year.

Cooperation between the two “has expanded both in breadth and depth across all areas of defence, especially in maritime security, cybersecurity and capacity building”, said a Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs statement in April.

Analysts view the pact as a logical next step in deepening defence ties between the Philippines and Canada amid mutual concern about China’s growing military presence in the region.