http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12174/59 2026-04-22T11:09:06Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12174/17530 PHL, Canada seal visiting forces agreement amid sea tensions Basilio, Kenneth Christiane The Philippines and Canada on Sunday signed a military pact that will allow their troops to set foot in each other’s territories, deepening Manila’s defense ties with Ottawa amid lingering South China Sea tensions and just days after the US pledged support to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s deterrence in the waterway. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and Canadian Defense Minister David Joseph McGuinty signed the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) in Manila, making Canada the fifth country to enter into a troop access pact with the Philippines. Both sides agreed on the legal provisions allowing Filipino and Canadian troops to enter each other’s territories in March this year, with the Canadian government describing the deal as a reinforcement to their 2024 defense cooperation pact. 2025-11-03T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12174/17529 Marcos eyes Xi visit for talks on sea row Hufana, Chloe Mari Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said he plans to invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Manila for talks aimed at easing tensions in the South China Sea, as the Philippines gears up to head the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year. Hosting the 11-member bloc gives Manila a rare chance to shape regional priorities, which Mr. Marcos said presents “opportunities” for the Philippines to push for a legally binding code of conduct (CoC) in the disputed waters. Five ASEAN members have overlapping maritime claims with China. “I would certainly invite him… to show how sincere we are to President Xi Jinping,” Mr. Marcos told reporters after the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday. “We would like for him to come to the Philippines.” 2025-10-30T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12174/17528 Fishport modernization seen unlocking enterprise potential Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) bid to modernize major fishports under the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) has the potential to transform traditional fishing hubs into modern agri-fishery business centers. Speaking at the Navotas Business Conference, Mr. Laurel was quoted in a DA statement as calling the city “the fishing capital of the Philippines” whose entrepreneurship and innovation can be replicated in other regions. Mr. Laurel said modernization will upgrade ports, cold storage facilities, and logistics systems to make fish landing sites more competitive. Each improvement opens opportunities for local businesses while improving incomes of fisheries workers. 2025-11-03T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12174/17527 Philippines eyes more joint drills in South China Sea and beyond Basilio, Kenneth Christiane; Halili, Adrian The Philippines military plans to hold more joint naval drills with its allies in the South China Sea and beyond as it expects heightened Chinese coerciveness in the disputed waters, a navy spokesman said on Tuesday. Philippine forces plan to expand naval exercises beyond traditional allies to strengthen deterrence as Manila faces growing Chinese assertiveness and may also stage similar drills beyond the South China Sea, said Rear Admiral Roy Vincent T. Trinidad, navy spokesman on the South China Sea. “There will be an increase in our multilateral participants… [and] there will be an increase in our multilateral engagements and exercises,” he told a media briefing. 2026-01-07T00:00:00Z