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Philippines, France start VFA talks
The Freeman
|June 28, 2025
The Philippines and France have formally started discussing the establishment of a visiting forces agreement that would allow both countries to stage joint military exercises in each other's territory.
The first round of VFA negotiations was held in Paris this week, French Ambassador Marie Fontanel-Lassalle said during a lecture at the Foreign Service Institute on Friday, June 17.
The talks were “very promising and successful,” the French ambassador said, adding the process would likely take some time due to the nature of the negotiations.
If the discussions lead to a signing of the deal, France would become “the first European country to have a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines,” Fontanel-Lassalle said.
The Philippines currently maintains visiting forces agreements with the United States, signed in 1999, and a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia, ratified in 2012. Manila also signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan last year, which recently entered into force following its ratification. The Philippines also signed a VFA with New Zealand in April and just recently concluded negotiations with Canada.
This story is from the June 28, 2025 edition of The Freeman.
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