France awaits PH response on submitted first draft of VFA

French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel holds a press conference aboard French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle in Subic Bay on Sunday, February 23, 2025. —INQUIRER.net/ Faith Argosino

SUBIC BAY, ZAMBALES, Philippines — France already submitted the first draft of its military interoperability agreement with the Philippines last October and is currently awaiting the latter’s response, according to French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel.

Fontanel said the “intent to negotiate” a visiting forces agreement (VFA) between the two countries is part of the letter signed by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and his counterpart, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, in December 2023.

READ: French aircraft carrier visits PH; West PH Sea drills seen

“We were supposed to issue a first draft, which we did and we transmitted to the Philippine authorities our first draft of such a visiting forces agreement last October,” the ambassador disclosed in a press conference aboard aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle on Sunday.

“And we are currently now waiting for the Philippine authorities to come back to us in order to be able to officially open the negotiations,” she added.

Apart from this, the aircraft carrier’s arrival in the country on Friday was also part of the letter of intent.

In December 2023, Teodoro announced that the Philippines and France began their talks to establish a VFA.

The following year, Paris participated for the first time in a four-day joint patrol in the WPS during Manila and Washington’s annual Balikatan exercises.

Based on previous reports, both countries increased military engagement despite a lack of an official VFA, which enables a mechanism for shared military training and operations and larger joint exercises between two countries.