PH, French military hold drills in West Philippine Sea

The French Navy’s aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle (PHOTO FROM THE AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and France held a maritime cooperation activity in the West Philippine Sea, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner said on Friday night, marking the first joint military activity of between both nations in the western section of the country’s exclusive economic zone.

The French navy’s aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, Fregate Europeenne Multi-Mission Destroyer Provence, Force Supply Vessel Jacques Chevallier, Air Defense Destroyer Forbin, and Aquitaine-class frigate Alsace participated in the drills.

The AFP deployed the BRP Jose Rizal, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, C90 aircraft and its two FA50s to the drill.

“Through joint maritime cooperative activities and collaborative efforts, the AFP seeks to build a stronger, more resilient defense system that is prepared to address the challenges of the modern security landscape,” Brawner said in a statement.

This bilateral activity took place amid ongoing negotiations for a visiting forces agreement (VFA) between Manila and Paris.

The VFA enables a mechanism for shared military training and operations and larger joint exercises between the Philippines and France.

The arrival of the French aircraft carrier was also part of the letter of intent signed by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and his counterpart, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, last Dec. 2023 when the first VFA negotiation began.

In 2024, Paris, for the first time,  participated in the four-day joint patrol in the West Philippine Sea during Manila and Washington’s annual Balikatan exercises.

Such drills had been done amid Beijing’s continuous aggression based on its sweeping claims in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea.

Such claims, however, have already been effectively invalidated by a 2016 international tribunal ruling stemming from a case filed by Manila.

In light of its bid to assert its sovereign rights in the western section of its exclusive economic zone, the country has forged military treaties with like-minded nations.

To date, the Philippines has a VFA with the United States, and a similar status of the visiting forces agreement or SOVFA with Australia.

But Manila and Tokyo signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement, also akin to a VFA, but the respective congresses of both countries are yet to ratify this treaty.

The country also recently concluded its negotiation for its VFA with New Zealand.

Teodoro also floated the possibility of the country having a VFA with Canada.