PH, New Zealand to sign visiting forces pact soon

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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will enter into a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with New Zealand this year.

Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters made the announcement during the latter’s visit to Manila on Monday.

“Secretary Manalo and Minister Peters discussed opportunities for growing mutually beneficial two-way trade, investment and defense cooperation, including the negotiation and conclusion of a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement in 2024,” they said in a joint statement after their meeting.

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Both also welcomed the signing of a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement, which Manalo called a “pivotal document that will greatly enhance future military engagements between our nations.”

In 1999, the Philippines entered into a VFA with the United States that allowed the latter to resume its large-scale military presence in the country following the closure of its military bases in 1991.

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The country likewise signed in 2007 a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia that was ratified in 2012.

Manalo and Peters, meanwhile, “agreed on the important role maritime security and international law plays in ensuring peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

“I thanked New Zealand for its steadfast support for the challenges we are facing in the South China Sea, and we reaffirmed our continued commitment to uphold the rule of law as a pillar to achieving peace and security in the region,” Manalo said at a joint news conference on Monday.