Manila finds new muscle, Canada joins Philippines’ expanding circle of defence allies

MANILA, PHILIPPINES: The Philippines and Canada have taken a major step towards strengthening their defence ties, signing a landmark Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in Manila on Sunday (Nov 2). The pact marks a new chapter in the Philippines’ growing web of security partnerships — and represents Canada’s first-ever military agreement with a nation in the Indo-Pacific.

The deal was signed by Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr and Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty, who called it “a great day for both of our nations.”

“Peace is built on rules, not recklessness,” McGuinty said at a joint press conference. “Stability grows from cooperation, not confrontation.”

Strengthening alliances

Under the new agreement, Canadian troops will be allowed to train and operate temporarily in the Philippines, opening the door to more joint military exercises and closer coordination between the two Pacific democracies.

McGuinty noted that Canada hopes to take part in next year’s Balikatan exercises — the Philippines’ annual joint drills with the United States.

For Manila, this agreement is a chunk of a comprehensive initiative to increase and develop its web of defence allies amid intensifying strains in the region. In recent months, the Philippines has signed similar agreements with Japan and New Zealand, and is now exploring potential deals with France and the United Kingdom.

Teodoro said the partnership would allow both countries “to work not only bilaterally but with other like-minded partners to preserve peace and stability — and deter threats to it.”

Rising regional friction

The signing comes as tensions between the Philippines and China continue to rise over disputed areas in the South China Sea. Encounters between Chinese and Philippine vessels have become increasingly hostile.

Just last month, Manila accused a Chinese coastguard ship of deliberately ramming a Philippine government vessel near the Spratly Islands — a claim Beijing dismissed, insisting it had simply “expelled intruders” from Chinese waters.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr recently welcomed the creation of a new US-Philippines task force, saying he hopes it will help “lower tensions” in the contested region.

Cooperation beyond defence

The budding alliance between Canada and the Philippines involves more than military collaboration. These two nations are also expanding and strengthening economic ties and cultural bonds, backed up by a robust Filipino community of approximately one million individuals in Canada. Negotiations are now in progress for a possible free trade arrangement.

As geopolitical enmities deepen across the Indo-Pacific, Sunday’s consensus highlights a collective certainty between Manila and Ottawa — that peace is tenable and best protected through collaboration and teamwork, not intimidation or bullying, and that preserving international law is the indisputable route to regional peace and stability.