PH-France defense cooperation

“Worse than war is the fear of war,” someone said a long time ago, and that could well be interpreted as an argument for waging war.

But fear of war is precisely what keeps us striving to keep war from happening in the first place.

Our Constitution explicitly renounces war as an instrument of national policy.

At the same time, however, it calls on the State to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity through the armed forces and the people themselves through compulsory military service if required by law.

Yet another way forward in preventing war is strengthening alliances with friendly countries.

We have the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States, signed in 1951, which binds the two sides to come to each other’s aid if attacked by a third country.

With the MDT still in place—with an “ironclad” guarantee no less from the U.S.—our two governments have signed two other treaties: the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), in keeping with changing geo-political realities in the post-Cold War era and heightened tensions in the South China Sea.

Of late, we have strengthened defense cooperation with other countries in the region, such as Japan and Australia.

Now, the Philippines and France are also taking steps toward enhanced defense cooperation, including the possible signing of VFA that would allow our military forces to conduct exercises in each other’s territory.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and his counterpart, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, recently signed a letter of intent allowing both governments “to take concrete steps into leveling up and making more comprehensive our defense cooperation…by working to begin negotiations for a visiting forces agreement.”

The Philippines currently has two active VFAs: one with the United States which was ratified by the Senate in 1999 and with Australia which was signed in 2007 but was ratified and took effect only in 2012.

The VFA governs the conduct of foreign soldiers on Philippine soil while they undergo joint military training with Filipino troops.

The Philippines is also expected shortly to complete a reciprocal access agreement with Japan, which will establish procedures for cooperative activities conducted by the defense force of one country while visiting the other.

Having a VFA with France could raise the level of inter-operability between our armed forces and that of our European ally.

This is a positive development that would reinforce our mutual commitment to adhere to the generally accepted principles of international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

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