The Philippines is looking to forge reciprocal troops access agreements with Canada, France, New Zealand, and other countries, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. said on Monday.
Teodoro said in an interview he hoped the agreements could be signed next year. These would allow greater interoperability, as armed forces of the aforesaid countries can operate within the Philippine territory and vice-versa.
“It is close to the apex of a defensive alliance,” according to the Department of National Defense (DND) chief.
The Philippines and Japan signed a landmark military pact on July 8 that allows the deployment of forces on each other’s soil in the face of China’s increasingly assertive stance in the region.
Canada, France, and New Zealand have expressed support for the Philippines’ claims within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea and rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that its expansive claims had no basis under international law. The case was brought to the court by the Philippines.
On Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said, Manila and Beijing agreed to a provisional arrangement regarding the conduct of rotation and resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
