Canada and the Philippines are in the final stages of negotiating a key defense pact that would allow their forces to hold larger military drills in the South China Sea, where Ottawa has rejected China’s “provocative and unlawful actions,” the Canadian ambassador to Manila said.
The Philippine military has staged multinational patrols and drills since last year with counterparts from the U.S., Japan, France, Australia and Canada, including in the South China Sea, infuriating China.
In August last year, Canada joined the United States, Australia and the Philippines in air and naval maneuvers to promote the rule of law and unhindered passage in the South China Sea.
“We have been vocal in confronting the provocative and unlawful actions of the People’s Republic of China in the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea,” Hartman said.
Canadian Ambassador David Hartman said Friday night that his country and the Philippines were "in the final stages of the negotiations of our status of forces visiting agreement that will enable us to have even more substantive participation in joint and multilateral training exercises and operations with the Philippines and allies here in the region.".
