The defense establishments of the Philippines and France forged a deal for the planned establishment of a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) which will allow the presence of each other's troops in Manila or Paris for war games, trainings, and exchange of best military practices.

Department of National Defense (DND) Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Sebastien Lecornu, French Minister for the Armed Forces, signed the Letter of Intent on Saturday, Dec. 2, during a meeting in Taguig City.

The Letter of Intent signified both officials' willingness to raise the level of their interaction and consolidate their exchanges through practical cooperation.

"This is a historic occasion. This is the first time a sitting Minister of Defence of France has visited the Philippines. Today, we have the honor of welcoming His Excellency Sebastien Lecornu and his delegation to our country in order to sign a Letter of Intent where in the face of three past agreements that both our countries and defense establishments have entered into, we intend to take concrete steps to leveling up and making more comprehensive our defense cooperation," Teodoro said.

The two defense officials reaffirmed their determination to work for a stronger long-term partnership in the maritime, land, aerial, and information domains.

"The first goal is to create interoperability or strategic closeness with both armed forces, see how both navies work together and how our air forces work together. It is for sure that for the armies, we still have the strongest endeavors," Lecornu noted.

The development occured just as the Philippines has been elevating its strategic defense and military cooperation with "like-minded" nations such as the United States, Japan, and Australia in the face of emerging security challenges in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The Philippines has respective visiting forces agreements with US and Australia while works are ongoing for the establishment of one called Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Japan.

Last week, the AFP held separate maritime cooperative activities (MCAs) with the US Indo-Pacific Command and Australia's Royal Defence Force which were highlighted by joint patrol operations in the WPS. 

This was seen as a deterrent to the increasing aggression of China in the South China Sea, which is a key waterway for maritime trades involving many countries such as France.

"Both countries have independent foreign policies and we respect such, and we agree to work on shared values, shared cooperation, not only in the South China Sea but also in the Greater Pacific Area where France also has a presence," Teodoro said.