The Philippines and France have signed an agreement opening the door for their soldiers to participate in joint exercises on each other's soil, Manila said on March 27, its first such pact with a European country.
The archipelago nation has secured similar pacts with Japan, Canada and New Zealand over the past two years, as it seeks to counter Beijing's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippines and China have engaged in frequent clashes in the crucial waterway, which Beijing claims in nearly its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
The new "status of visiting forces agreement" with France was signed on March 26 in Paris, hours after the Philippine military accused China of conducting "dangerous maneuvers" in the contested waterway.
"The SOVFA will serve as the primary document to facilitate a wider range of defense cooperative activities between the Philippine and French armed forces in the territory of either country," Manila's defense department said in a statement.
The French navy has previously taken part in joint drills in the South China Sea alongside Philippine and U.S. vessels, while the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle made its first port visit to Subic Bay in February last year.
The new agreement, which must still be ratified by the countries' legislatures, would allow for greater cooperation with French ground forces, which have previously taken part as observers in the annual US-Philippine Balikatan military exercises.
