(MENAFN) Canada became the fifth nation to formalize a visiting forces defense agreement with the Philippines on Sunday, paving the way for the two countries to deploy military personnel on each other’s soil and deepen defense collaboration.

The Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) was signed in Makati by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Canadian Minister of National Defense David McGuinty following a bilateral meeting.

While noting that existing information-sharing and people-to-people ties are already strong, Teodoro told a local media company, the new pact “would make that robustness enduring.”

“Beyond this agreement, we recognize its strategic value of expanding cooperation in critical areas such as maritime security, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, and cyber defense capability,” he added.

Teodoro also emphasized that the two countries could contribute “not only for individual security but also for collective peace and stability in the region” through these areas, saying the deal would “resist attempts to redefine the norms for the selfish advantage of powerful countries.”

McGuinty hailed the agreement, saying it “will bring our countries closer together at a time,” and noted that it marks Canada’s first defense pact with an Asian nation.

The signing follows the recent Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea, which included the Philippines, the US, Australia, and, for the first time, New Zealand.

This is the fifth visiting forces pact for the Philippines, following agreements with the US (1998), Australia (2007), Japan (2024), and New Zealand (April 2025).

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