UK seeks visiting forces deal with Phl — Gibo

The Philippines is poised to begin formal negotiations with the United Kingdom for a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), following a letter of intent from the British Minister of Defense expressing interest in enhanced defense cooperation.

In an interview on the sidelines of a Palace event on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the letter outlines the United Kingdom’s intention to forge a bilateral defense framework that would allow British forces to operate on Philippine soil under defined legal parameters, similar to existing agreements with other partners.

“We welcome this development, because then, it will be the second European country that we will be negotiating a SOVFA with,” Teodoro said.

While the agreement still awaits formal approval from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Defense Secretary Teodoro expressed confidence that no major hurdles are expected, noting that consultations with the Department of Foreign Affairs will take place shortly.

He added that the key driver behind the UK’s interest is multilateral maritime cooperation—a growing area of collaboration as tensions continue to rise in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) due to China's aggressive actions.

“And the next step will be for me to be authorized by the President to negotiate such a SOVFA. They’re very interested, of course, in multilateral maritime exercises,” he added.

Teodoro also stressed that the Philippines sees strategic alignment with the UK, given that both countries operate smaller, agile armed forces.

“For us, we see a fit also with our army and their army being smaller armed forces. And we can learn a lot from the way that they operate as a smaller army,” he said.

Significantly, Teodoro noted the proposed SOVFA would also underscore Britain’s full support for the Philippines’ position in the WPS, particularly the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s sweeping claims.

“Underlying that SOGFA is a full support, not only for unclosed for international law, but full support for the arbitral award. So that is the clearest expression that a country may have to support our position in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

The Department of National Defense earlier announced that the Philippines and the UK agreed to begin formal negotiations for a SOFVA, paving the way for closer military collaboration between the two nations.

This came after Teodoro welcomed UK Minister of State for Defence Lord Vernon Coaker at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City on September 16.