Canada and the Philippines, staunch critics of China’s increasing coercion in the disputed South China Sea, signed a major defense deal on Sunday to boost combat exercises and expand security alliances to deter aggression, officials said.
Canada and other Western powers are increasing their military presence in the Indo-Pacific region to help promote the rule of law and expand trade and investment in the region. The strategy fits with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s efforts to forge defense ties with other countries to help the underfunded Philippine military face off against militarily superior China in the disputed waters.
There was no immediate comment from China, which has accused the Philippines of being a “troublemaker” and a “subversion of regional stability” following joint patrols and combat exercises with the United States and other South China Sea countries.
Beijing claims almost all of the waterway, a major trade route, despite the 2016 1982 of the arbitral award which invalidated these claims. UN Convention.
China rejected the decision and used powerful water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers against the Philippine Coast Guard and other vessels, causing collisions and injuring crew. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also embroiled in long-running territorial disputes.
The Philippines says China wants to expand its territory
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. signed the agreement on the status of incoming forces with his Canadian counterpart David McGuinty on Sunday after a closed-door meeting in Manila.
McGuinty said the agreement will promote joint military training, information sharing and cooperation in emergency situations, including natural disaster response.
Teodoro told reporters that the deal would be crucial to promoting a rules-based international order in a region threatened by Chinese aggression. “Who is hegemonic? Who wants to expand their territory in the world? China,” Teodoro said.
Such agreements provide the legal basis for foreign military visits for joint large-scale exercises in any country.
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.
Similar agreements are being negotiated with France and Singapore. Efforts are also underway to open talks with Britain and possibly Germany and India, Teodoro and other officials said.
Beijing faces a backlash over disputed shoaling plans
At a meeting of defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with Asian and Western counterparts in Malaysia on Saturday, Teodoro condemned China’s recent declaration of a “nature reserve” in the Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing area claimed by Manila and Beijing.
“For us, this is a disguised attempt to use military power and the threat of using force to violate the rights of smaller countries and their citizens who depend on the bounty of these waters,” Teodoro said.
Canada criticized China’s plan when it was announced in September, saying it did not support “attempts to use environmental protection as a way to take control of the Scarborough Shoal.” Canada also criticized China’s “dangerous” use of water cannons in September, which injured a Filipino official aboard a government ship.
Canada’s ambassador to Manila, David Hartman, said his country had “loudly fought China’s provocative and illegal actions” in the region’s waters and “will continue to do so.”
Canada signed a defense cooperation agreement with the Philippines last year. Another agreement, signed in Ottawa in 2023, gave the Philippines access to data from Canada’s Dark Vessel Detection System, which uses satellite technology to track illegal vessels even if they turn off location-transmitting devices.
The Philippine Coast Guard has used Canadian technology to track Chinese coast guard vessels and fishing boats in the South China Sea.