Manila: Canada on Sunday became the fifth country to sign a visiting forces defense agreement with the Philippines, allowing the two nations to deploy military personnel in each other's territory and expand defense collaboration. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Canadian Minister of National Defense David McGuinty signed the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) in the city of Makati after a bilateral meeting.

According to Anadolu Agency, Teodoro stated that while information-sharing and people-to-people ties between the two countries are already 'robust,' the new pact 'would make that robustness enduring.' He highlighted the strategic value of expanding cooperation in areas such as maritime security, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, and cyber defense capability. Teodoro emphasized that both nations can contribute to 'not only individual security but also collective peace and stability in the region' and expressed that the deal would 'resist attempts to redefine the norms for the selfish advantage of powerful countries.'

McGuinty remarked that the agreement 'will bring our countries closer together at a time,' noting that it is Canada's first such defense pact with an Asian country. The signing followed the recent Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea, which involved the Philippines, the US, Australia, and, for the first time, New Zealand.

This agreement marks the fifth of its kind for the Philippines, following the signing of similar agreements with the US in 1998, Australia in 2007, Japan in 2024, and New Zealand in April 2025.