UK, PH start talks on possible visiting forces agreement 

ANOTHER SOVFA. Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. receives Minister of State for Defense in the House of Lords, Lord Vernon Coaker, during his visit at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City Tuesday (Sept. 16, 2025). In the meeting, Lord Coaker presented Teodoro with a letter from The Rt. Hon. John Healey MP, the UK Secretary of State for Defence, conveying their intent to enter into a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of the DND)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United Kingdom have agreed to start negotiations for a status of visiting forces agreement (Sovfa), as Manila deepens its security ties with Western allies amid rising tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

Vernon Coaker, UK’s minister of state for defense, brought the matter up when he visited Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. at Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.

Coaker presented a letter from British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey, which conveyed London’s intent to enter into a Sovfa with Manila.

“We welcome this development because then it will be the second European country that we will be negotiating a Sovfa with,” Teodoro told reporters in Malacañang on Wednesday.

The proposed Sovfa would serve as a legal framework for joint military activities, allowing enhanced cooperation between both countries’ armed forces.

It will govern the presence of foreign troops in the Philippines during joint exercises, training, or other activities.

“That is the clearest expression that a country might have to support our claim in the West Philippine Sea,” Teodoro said.

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After the initial talks, the next step would be for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to authorize the negotiations.