Senate ratifies SOVFA with France

MANILA, Philippines —  Senators passed a resolution yesterday ratifying the country’s Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) with France, which was signed in Paris last March.

Seventeen senators voted to approve the Senate resolution ratifying the SOVFA.

French Ambassador Donatienne Hissard was present to receive the approved resolution.

“This is a historical moment because this treaty ratification of our visiting forces with France is the first for a European nation,” Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said the development was “long time coming.”

The SOVFA “is a reciprocal bilateral defense agreement that establishes the legal framework governing the presence and cooperative activities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the French Armed Forces, including their respective Civilian Components, in each other’s territories, and facilitates joint defense, training, humanitarian, and other mutually agreed activities.”

France is the first European nation to enter into a visiting forces pact with the Philippines, joining other global partners such as the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada and New Zealand.

“As political conflicts continue to divide the world, it becomes more important that we form stronger alliances and ties with like-minded democracies such as France,” Zubiri said.

“We express our appreciation to the Senate for sharing the Department’s vision of credible deterrence, where we stand together with our partners across the globe for mutual resilience and towards contributing to the peace and stability in the region,” the Department of National Defense said in welcoming the development.

“The unanimous affirmation of this vision by our esteemed senators underscores the significance of this undertaking, which marks the first with a European nation,” its statement read.

The DND noted that France has been one of the reliable partners of the Philippines in upholding international law as a maritime power. As a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it has consistently articulated support for the 2016 Arbitral Award.

“It is also on the cutting edge of high-tech defense capabilities that the Philippines will need in the future as we build up our supply chain resilience,” the DND said.

“France’s consistent willingness to not only participate but also grow convergence across our shared domains makes it an indispensable partner of the Philippines,” it added.

The DND declared that it will continue to deepen and expand cooperation with like-minded countries, “not only for our own credible deterrent posture but also for regional and global resilience against unilateral actions that subvert the rules-based international order.”