Ottawa: The security relations between the Philippines and Canada got a boost as defense chiefs of the two nations on Thursday (Canadian time) signed a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement (MLSA). "I'm pleased to announce that today, (Philippine Defense) Secretary (Gilbert) Teodoro and I have just signed a Statement of Intent to strengthen defense cooperation between Canada and the Philippines. And as part of that commitment, we also signed a MLSA which will allow our countries to provide logistical support to one another during important military exercises, training activities, and operations," Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty said at an online press briefing conducted in Ottawa.
According to Philippines News Agency, McGuinty said the agreements build on the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) that he and Teodoro signed in Manila in November 2025. "And as Canada's first such agreement in the Indo-Pacific, the SOVFA will allow our armed forces to train, exercise and operate together more effectively once it enters into force," McGuinty said. He added that such agreements reflect the momentum of a growing and important defense partnership.
"Last October, members of the Royal Canadian Navy participated in Exercise Sama Sama alongside the Philippines and other international partners. Earlier this year, Canada also participated in Exercise Balikatan for the first time, with some 450 members of the Canadian Armed Forces participating," McGuinty said. It was Teodoro's first official visit to Canada as Philippine defense chief. "I had the honor of visiting Secretary Teodoro in Manila last year and today it is my privilege to welcome him to Ottawa for his first official visit to Canada. Canada and the Philippines share an enduring friendship spanning more than 75 years," McGuinty said.
He said the Philippines and Canada are connected not only through strong diplomatic ties, but through the people, families, and communities who help strengthen the bond. "As outlined, Mr. Secretary, in our Indo-Pacific strategy, Canada remains committed to supporting peace, security, and stability throughout the region. That includes support for a maritime order grounded in international law, where disputes are resolved peacefully and the rights of all states are respected. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal ruling, Canada will continue working alongside the Philippines and ASEAN partners to promote respect for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," McGuinty said.
For his part, Teodoro said the signing of the Statement of Intent on Strengthening Defense Cooperation and the MLSA puts teeth into the SOVFA. "As Minister McGuinty had just said, that this SOVFA is an expression and an exercise of interoperability, of building trust and confidence between our defense systems and our armed forces, because we need to underpin our strong and robust ties for more economic activities, for more secure people-to-people exchanges, for more interaction between both our countries. And we need this in order to uphold, being maritime countries, the all-ever-important UNCLOS," he said, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Teodoro said this is significant for the Philippines as the country will soon be observing the 10th anniversary of the Arbitral Award which the Philippines won, and which shows that UNCLOS reigns supreme when it comes to determining maritime rights. "We see this as a microcosm of the whole Canada-Philippines relationship, where we will be entering into partnerships for critical infrastructure, for critical minerals, for energy, for businesses to thrive, for industry to thrive, for telecommunications. And we are here as Defense Secretary and Minister to underpin the mutuality of activities, exchange of goods, services freely and safely in the maritime domain and in other domains under a cladding of security of which is a sine qua non in today's volatile world. Although we must stress that we work together, propounding international norms for a free and open Indo-Pacific and under the basis of the rule of law, particularly, as we said, UNCLOS," Teodoro said.
