By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE government should prioritize building a self-reliant defense program amid growing tension in the South China Sea, an analyst said, as Manila begins talks on a visiting forces agreement (VFA) with Paris.
“The Marcos administration shouldn’t lose sight of the primary goal and that is to establish a self-reliant defense posture. These defense alliances are merely components of this initiative,” Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a fellow at the Ateneo de Manila Policy Center, said via Messenger chat.
“They are critical to the overall objective, but they shouldn’t be treated as foundational elements of our national defense strategy.”
Last month, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. approved the start of a negotiations between the Philippines and France to enter into a VFA.
French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel on Friday said that formal communication is yet to be received, however, it stands ready to start negotiations with Manila.
“We haven’t been officially informed of that so far, so we are still waiting for the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Department of National Defense (DND) to come back to us,” Ms. Fontanel told reporters at the ambassador’s residence.
“We now have to set the schedule for the first round of negotiations,” Ms. Fontanel said.
She added that France has already submitted the first draft of the agreement last October 2023, followed by the signing of a letter of intent between Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo C. Teodoro, Jr. and French Minister of Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu in December 2023.
The letter aimed to create a stronger defense partnership, which include strategic training and industrial cooperation.
The Philippine government has been seeking more foreign defense deals with countries like the US, Japan, Australia and Canada amid its ongoing sea dispute with China.
Philippine forces have repeatedly sparred with Chinese ships and aircraft in the South China Sea over competing claims on Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, among other sea features.
A United Nations-backed tribunal based in The Hague in 2016 voided China’s claim to more than 80% of the South China Sea, where more than $3 trillion worth of trade passes through each year, for being illegal.
Mr. Teodoro said in March that defense talks with two new countries have progressed, with the government expected to sign a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with New Zealand in April, while its VFA negotiations with Canada nears conclusion.
Mr. Yusingco said that a VFA with France will particularly bolster the Philippines’ naval capacity, among other war skills but noted that “it cannot be relied upon as the end-all of our national defense build-up.”
Don Mclain Gill, who teaches international relations at De La Salle University in Manila, said there is a convergence between France and the Philippine in maintaining a stable and secure Indo-Pacific, particularly its maritime domain.
“When it comes to securing its own interests in the region (France) would need to work closer with countries that also share the same interests, perceptions, and objectives, and of course, the Philippines comes first in line,” Mr. Gill said via Messenger chat.
He added that a VFA with France would speed up the pursuit of joint military preparedness in the region.
“There have also been indicators that France was willing to increase its interoperability and maritime defense cooperation with the Philippines as we have seen it joined the Balikatan for the first time last year. Of course, it has been increasing its maritime engagements with us within the broader Western Pacific,” Mr. Gill said.
Chester B. Cabalza, founding president of Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said that Manila can benefit from France’s submarines and aircrafts.
If the defense partnership would push through, “France will be the first European power to hedge with an emergent middle power from Southeast Asia,” he said in a Facebook messenger chat.
“With the elevated strategic partnership of France with the Philippines, the synergy of maritime rules-based order will keep peace and order in the Indo-Pacific region as the two militaries from Western Europe and Southeast Asia will forge for greater collaboration in maintaining defense diplomacy and cooperation in this part of the world,” Mr. Cabalza added.
