By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

The Philippines and Canada will sign a defense pact later this week granting greater access for troops in each other’s territories, according to Manila’s Defense department, as it seeks to deepen security ties with its allies amid lingering South China Sea tensions.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and Canadian Defense Minister David Joseph McGuinty will sign the status of visiting forces agreement (SOVFA) in Manila on Sunday, forging a deal that began negotiations earlier this year to enhance military cooperation between the two countries.

“The SOVFA will then be submitted for presidential ratification,” the Department of National Defense said in a statement on Wednesday.

The visiting forces deal between the Philippines and Canada aims to reinforce their 2024 defense cooperation pact and improve interoperability by establishing a framework for operating and training troops within each other’s territories, the Canadian government said in a March statement.

Ottawa has consistently backed Manila’s stake in the South China Sea, one of the world’s most contested waterways, where tensions between the Philippines and China continue to simmer due to overlapping claims.

Beijing continues to lay its sovereignty over the energy-rich waters despite a 2016 ruling by a United Nations-backed court that voided its claims.

Philippine and Chinese forces have repeatedly sparred over disputed maritime features, and both have traded accusations of escalating tensions following incidents involving water cannon blasts and sideswipes between vessels.

The Southeast Asian nation has stepped up efforts to push back against China’s sweeping sea claims by expanding its web of alliances beyond the US, its long-standing treaty ally. It has forged visiting forces agreements with Australia, and most recently, New Zealand, alongside a similar deal with Japan.

Talks for a visiting forces pact with France are also under way.