Teodoro: PH-New Zealand visiting forces deal a deterrent vs China
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Wednesday that the newly signed Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (Sovfa) between the Philippines and New Zealand will help Manila deter aggression in the disputed South China Sea.
“With China, for example, being particularly aggressive in the way it does, we need to deter this kind of unwanted behavior,” Teodoro said at a joint press conference with New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins in Makati City after the signing of the agreement at Malacañang.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, which includes parts of the West Philippine Sea, waters within Manila’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone.
The Sofva will establish a legal framework for military engagement that will allow both sides to conduct joint exercises in each other’s territories and boost defense and security cooperation.
“Our alliance-building measures with New Zealand, and soon some more, are important because there are those who follow international law and there are those who want to redefine it,” Teodoro said.
For her part, Collins said New Zealand supports a rules-based international order and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Strategic environment
“The strategic environment that we are operating in is deteriorating. As a result, we have vowed to step up and play our part in working with others in our region,” she said.
“Our militaries already work well together and this agreement will create conditions for even more seamless cooperation in the defense space,” she added.
Aside from New Zealand, the Philippines has a Sovfa with Australia, a Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States, and a Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan.
The Philippines is also working on a similar deal with Canada and France.
President Marcos witnessed the signing of the Sovfa between Teodoro and Collins at the Palace.
“Those partnerships that we have formed, agreements that we have made, bilaterally and on a multilateral basis as well, have been extremely important,” he said.
The Palace has yet to release details about the Sovfa, which needs to be ratified by the Senate for it to take effect.
