France could become the fourth country with which the Philippines enters into a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) type of pact following Japan, as both nations seek to strengthen their defense cooperation.
The official visit of France Minister of Armed Force Sebastien Lecornu and his meeting with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro in December 2023 resulted in a letter of intent to establish a “stronger defense partnership in all areas of strategic training and industrial domains.”
French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel said that while both parties have not yet committed to any specific timeline, the possibility of a first draft for France might happen in September 2024.
“France and the Philippines [also] met in Paris in May, late May. I think it was the fourth joint committee on defense cooperation. And both parties agreed on the process, and the agreement was that France would be the one to start writing the first draft of a VFA,” Fontanel recounted.
“They agreed that France would take the pen to write the first draft. And I think they did not commit to any specific timing, but maybe by September, autumn period, France will be in a position to issue the first draft. And that would be then possibly the start of discussion between the Philippines and France on the French draft,” she added.
Fontanel congratulated the Philippines and Japan for concluding a successful Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) for a short span of time. She expressed the same confidence for a possible VFA-type of agreement with the Philippines.
In a related development, China remained firm in disregarding the legality of the 2016 arbitral ruling that upheld the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, calling the verdict was “illegal” and “invalid.”
The spokesperson of the China Embassy in the Philippines claimed that Manila was joining other countries in “ganging up” against China over the maritime row between the two countries, GMA News reported.
“To cling to this position and the arbitral award will get the Philippines nowhere but farther and farther away from the right path,” the Chinese Embassy stated.
International think tank Stratbase ADR Institute meanwhile is calling for more joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea between the Philippines and like-minded countries, amid continuous illegal and aggressive actions of China in the area.
Stratbase President Professor Dindo Manhit urged like-minded countries to “reinforce cooperation and elevate partnerships by conducting joint patrols and military exercises”.
Among the countries that reaffirmed their support for the award during the conference were Australia, Canada, France, Japan, and the United States. Also present were the ambassadors of Austria, Bangladesh, the European Union, Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Vietnam, and representatives from Brunei, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Manhit emphasized the importance of the arbitral ruling and cooperation with like-minded states amid China’s continuous aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
“This year, we witnessed actions – the most aggressive by far — performed against our fellow Filipinos at sea. Our troops, fisherfolk, and vessels encountered several attempts to block rotation and reprovision missions, numerous occasions of firing of water cannons, and an alarming number of collisions and near-collisions… Our boats may be damaged, and our lives may continuously be at risk, but our will to defend the West Philippine Sea has never been stronger,” Manhit said.
