Last week, the Philippines and New Zealand officially began negotiations for the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA).
The first round of talks was hosted by the Philippine government in Manila, with Department of National Defence Undersecretary Pablo M. Lorenzo and Ministry of Defence Head of International Kathleen Pearce leading the Philippine and New Zealand delegation, respectively.
The first round of negotiations marked an important step in strengthening bilateral defence ties between the Philippines and New Zealand. A commitment to conclude a SOVFA was among the key outcomes agreed between Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the Prime Minister’s visit to Manila in April 2024.
A SOVFA will reinforce the 2017 Memorandum of Arrangement between the New Zealand Ministry of Defence, the New Zealand Defence Force, and the Department of National Defence and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It will enable both countries’ armed forces to elevate their cooperative activities and conduct exercises in each other’s territories, deepening overall defence and military cooperation.
Pictured: Delegates from New Zealand included New Zealand Ambassador Catherine McIntosh, Deputy Head of Mission Stacey Kwant, and an analyst from the Ministry of Defence. Other members of the New Zealand delegation joined virtually.
The Philippine delegation was composed of Department of Justice Undersecretaries Raul Vasquez and Dennis Arvin Chan, Presidential Commission on Visiting Forces Undersecretary Antonio Habulan Jr. Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretaries Aileen Mendiola-Rau and Patrick Chuasoto, and OIC Paulo Saret; and Department of National Defence Assistant Secretary Erik Lawrence Dy.
