Jaehwa Bernardo

Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty and hilippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro during a bilateral meeting and signing of the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, November 2, 2025. Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Philippines, Canada ink landmark visiting forces deal

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1762070223850PH CANADA.jfif" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty and hilippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro during a bilateral meeting and signing of the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, November 2, 2025. Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty and hilippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro during a bilateral meeting and signing of the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, November 2, 2025. <em>Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATE</strong>) – Philippines and Canada on Sunday signed a landmark Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), which allows the two countries to deploy its forces in each other&#x27;s territory and further strengthen defense cooperation.  </p><p>Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro signed the pact with Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty in Makati following a bilateral meeting. </p><p>In his opening statement during the bilateral meeting, Teodoro said while the two nations&#x27; information-sharing and people-to-people ties are already &quot;robust,&quot; the SOVFA &quot;would make that robustness enduring.&quot; </p><p>&quot;Beyond this agreement, we recognize its strategic value of expanding cooperation in critical areas such as maritime security, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, [and] cyberdefense capability, &quot; Teodoro said.</p><p>The Philippine defense chief said these are areas where the two countries could contribute meaningfully, &quot;not only for our own individual security but also for collective peace and stability in the region.&quot; </p><p>This also sought to uphold, he added, rules-based international orders, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), just as the deal would &quot;resist attempts to redefine the norms for the selfish advantage of powerful countries.&quot;</p><p>For his part, McGuinty said the defense agreement was a &quot;deliberate choice&quot; and his country&#x27;s first deal of its kind with a nation in the Indo-Pacific region. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/7/national-security-chief-says-ph-japan-military-pact-timely-stategic-1808">READ: National Security chief says PH-Japan military pact &#x27;timely, strategic&#x27;</a></div><p>&quot;It is a deliberate decision by Canada and its new government,&quot; McGuinty said during the bilateral meeting.</p><p>&quot;I know, as you have said, it will bring our countries closer together at a time… when we are strengthening our armed forces and our people. As we work to give rise to the next generation of a rules-based international order,&quot; he added. </p><p>McGuinty said Canada&#x27;s &quot;enhanced presence&quot; would allow their forces to take part in more multi-national exercises and build stronger ties with their partners. </p><p>&quot;Stability grows from cooperation not confrontation… We are proud to deepen our partnership with a country that courageously acts on values not just in words but through your dedicated work toward mutual peace and security. We share that dedication not only because of what we stand for, but because of our common respect,&quot; McGuinty said. </p><p>The SOVFA needs to be ratified by the President and would need the concurrence of the Philippine Senate, according to Teodoro. </p><p>&quot;We will work on this,&quot; he told reporters. </p><p>The Department of National Defense (DND) said negotiations for this SOVFA concluded in March.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>FIFTH DEFENSE PACT </strong></div><p>The signing came after the recently-concluded Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea – participated by the Philippines, the United States and Australia, and for the first time, New Zealand. </p><p>The deal is the fifth of its kind for the Philippines after Manila signed a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with Washington (signed in 1998), a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Japan (signed in July 2024), and a SOVFA with Australia (signed in 2007), and New Zealand (signed in April 2025).</p><p>Asked how this agreement will be different from the other VFAs that Manila has with other countries, Teodoro said this depends on the &quot;specializations that each have&quot; and distinct experiences. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/17/uk-eyes-visiting-forces-agreement-with-philippines-1133">READ: UK eyes visiting forces agreement with Philippines</a></div><p>&quot;We have much to learn, much to converge in with Canada – distinct from Australia and other countries that we have. But we will converge with them according to the rules-based international order,&quot; he said. </p><p>&quot;It is important to have bilateral arrangements because of the distinctions between these countries but we all converge in one area,&quot; he said.</p><p>In March this year, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. approved the beginning of a negotiation between the country and France to enter into a VFA. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GQ6CLYdtEno?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The Philippines and Canada signed Sunday a landmark Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), which allows the two countries to deploy its forces and further strengthen defense cooperation.</p>

The Philippines and Canada signed Sunday a landmark Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), which allows the two countries to deploy its forces and further strengthen defense cooperation.