Powder JIM GOMEZ
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Canada and the Philippines, two staunch critics of China's increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea, signed a major defense agreement Sunday to step up their combat exercises and expand previous security alliances to deter aggression, officials said.
Canada and other Western countries are increasing their military presence in the Indo-Pacific to help strengthen the rule of law and expand trade and investment in the region. The strategy is consistent with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s efforts to forge defense ties with other countries and help the cash-strapped Philippine military take on a militarily superior China in disputed waters.
There was no immediate comment from China, which accused the Philippines of being a “troublemaker” and a “saboteur of regional stability” after joint patrols and military exercises with the United States and other countries in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims virtually all of the waters through which important trade routes pass, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated those claims under a 1982 UN convention.
China reversed this decision and used powerful water cannons and dangerous jamming maneuvers against the Philippine Coast Guard and other vessels, resulting in collisions and injuries to the crew. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also been involved in long-running territorial disputes.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. signed the Visiting Forces Status Agreement with his Canadian counterpart David McGuinty after a closed-door meeting in Manila on Sunday.
McGuinty said the agreement will facilitate joint military exercises, information sharing and cooperation in emergency response, including disaster response.
Teodoro told reporters the agreement would be key to strengthening the rules-based international order in a region threatened by Chinese aggression. “Who is the hegemon? Who wants to expand their territory in the world? China,” Teodoro said.
Such agreements provide the legal basis for visiting foreign troops to conduct large-scale joint exercises in both countries.
The Philippines signed the first such defense pact with the United States in 1998, followed by a similar agreement with Australia nine years later. The agreement with Canada was the third signed under Marcos, after similar ones with Japan and New Zealand.
Negotiations on similar deals are ongoing with France and Singapore. Efforts are also underway to open talks with the United Kingdom and possibly Germany and India, Teodoro and other officials said.
At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' annual defense ministers' meeting with Asian and Western counterparts on Saturday in Malaysia, Teodoro denounced China's recent announcement of a “nature reserve” at Scarborough Bank, a rich fishing ground claimed by Manila and Beijing.
“For us, this is a veiled attempt to use military power and a threat to use force that undermines the rights of small countries and their citizens who depend on the riches of these waters,” Teodoro said.
Canada criticized China's plan when it was announced in September, saying it opposed “attempts to use environmental protection as a way to take control” of Scarborough Bank. Canada also criticized China in September for its “dangerous” use of water cannons that injured a Philippine official aboard a government ship.
Canada's ambassador to Manila, David Hartman, said his country has “clearly opposed China's provocative and illegal actions” in the region's waters and “will continue to do so.”
Last year, Canada signed a defense cooperation agreement with the Philippines. Another agreement, signed in Ottawa in 2023, gave the Philippines access to data from Canada's “Poaching Vessel Detection System,” which uses satellite technology to track illegal vessels even if they disable tracking devices.
The Philippine Coast Guard has used Canadian technology to track Chinese coast guard ships and fishing vessels in the South China Sea.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor using a generative artificial intelligence tool.
