Philippines Inks Military Pact With Canada in Bid to Deter China
A Chinese PLA Navy ship shadows the Royal Canadian Navy HMCS Ville de Quebec, during maritime cooperative activity with the Philippines, in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
Photographer: Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images
The Philippines and Canada signed a visiting forces agreement on Sunday, the latest military pact struck by Manila as it builds a coalition of allies to deter what it sees as Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.
The Status of Visiting Forces Agreement is Canada’s first such military pact with an Indo-Pacific nation, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said in a joint briefing with his Canadian counterpart David McGuinty.