Canada’s Ambassador to Manila, David Hartman, has said that a defense pact with the Philippines is in the final stages of negotiation.

The agreement would allow troops from both nations to deploy on each other’s territory amid rising tensions over Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea, which it claims in its entirety.

“We are in the final stages of negotiating the agreement, which will enable us to have deeper cooperation and more substantive participation in training to build capacity,” Hartman told Agence France-Presse.

He said the signing and ratification of the agreement, which would allow Canadian troops to join the large-scale joint military exercises held annually between the Philippines and the US, is expected by the end of the year.

Currently, the Philippines has visiting forces agreements with the US and Australia and a reciprocal access agreement with Japan. Manila is also working on securing defense pacts with France and New Zealand.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said these military pacts will enhance training and interoperability, as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) “needs to train with other armed forces because the dimensions of conflict are changing.”

Last year, Canada participated as an observer in the 39th iteration of Balikatan, the largest annual bilateral training exercise between the AFP and the US.