Philippines, France start VFA talks in Paris

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June 27, 2025 | 1:01pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and France have formally started discussing the establishment of a visiting forces agreement that would allow both countries to stage joint military exercises in each other's territory.

The first round of VFA negotiations was held in Paris this week, French Ambassador Marie Fontanel-Lassalle said during a lecture at the Foreign Service Institute on Friday, June 17. 

The talks were "very promising and successful," the French ambassador said, adding the process would likely take some time due to the nature of the negotiations.  

If the discussions lead to a signing of the deal, France would become "the first European country to have a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines," Fontanel-Lassalle said.

The Philippines currently maintains visiting forces agreements with the United States, signed in 1999, and a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia, ratified in 2012. Manila also signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan last year, which recently entered into force following its ratification. The Philippines also signed a VFA with New Zealand in April and just recently concluded negotiations with Canada.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro previously has said he aims to secure "as many as we can" of these military agreements to boost the country's defense partnerships amid regional tensions, including Beijing's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. 

The Philippines and France have pursued closer defense cooperation since December 2023, following a letter of intent signed by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro that commits both parties to raising their level of interactions and exchanges. This included the possibility of pursuing VFA talks. 

The ambassador highlighted the increased presence of French military personnel in Philippine waters since that agreement, including the first-ever visit to the Philippines of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in February.

"It was a really important milestone to have this aircraft carrier for the first time in the Philippines," she said. The visit gave "huge opportunities for both our armed forces to get to know better one another, to interact, to train and to even exercise together."

France was also one of 16 countries to send observers to the recent Balikatan joint exercises between the Philippines and the US. 

Maritime nations, common challenges

During her lecture, Fontanel-Lassalle said that France and the Philippines share common ground as maritime nations facing similar challenges in maritime security, ocean resources and freedom of navigation.

Despite France's location in Europe, its geography also makes it an archipelago when viewed on a world map, she added. France's overseas territories span the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, South Pacific, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, giving it a Pacific presence that connects it geographically with the Philippines, Fontanel-Lasalle explained.

"Our geography [France and the Philippines] orients us spontaneously towards the oceans," Fontanel-Lassalle said.

She noted France "definitely" has much to learn from "the Philippines being the most important archipelago all over the world."

Both countries launched the Blue Nations Initiative in June 2024, a program aimed at enhancing cooperation in environmental protection, climate action, blue economy and maritime security.