Canada hopes to finish VFA talks with PH in ‘coming months’

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

STANDBY. Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman speaks to the press aboard the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Montreal on Friday (Aug. 2, 2024). The Canadian government is hoping for the swift conclusion of talks on a possible Visiting Forces Agreement with the Philippines, Hartman said. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

MANILA – The Canadian government is hoping for the swift conclusion of talks on the possible Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SoVFA) with the Philippines, its top diplomat in Manila said Friday.

Aboard the HMCS Montreal, Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman said the two nations have exchanged texts and drafts of the defense pact.

“We’re much more optimistic that we will be able to conclude far more quickly, and we really are hoping to advance in the coming months,” he said in a press conference.

“The reality is, we’ve already exchanged text drafts, frankly, what we would want to achieve and articulate or codify with the Philippines is very comparable to what any like-minded partner or ally would also. So we don’t have to reinvent the will, if you will,” he said.

The envoy said the two states have a “strong, solid base” to negotiate with following the Philippines and Japan’s swift negotiation of a reciprocal access agreement.

“There’s always some subtleties and nuances between our respective positions, but I remain very optimistic that we will be able to conclude and ideally announce something in the not too distant future, ideally in the next couple of months,” he said.

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This growing interest to expand engagement with the Philippines follows the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation in January 2024 and the arrangement in 2023 that allowed the country to use Ottawa’s Dark Vessel Detection (DVD) system to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

“We have the geostrategic imperative, the geoeconomic imperative, and we have a familial imperative — we have familial ties between Canada and the Philippines that only a handful of countries around the world are privileged to have,” Hartman said.

The envoy said Canada is conscious of these ties and is eager to continue investing on them.

“So, we cannot be any more clear to the government of the Philippines how wedded we are to this relationship, how committed we are to this relationship,” he said.