Manila and Canberra are preparing to sign a new defense agreement that will grant expanded mutual military access and rights on each other’s soil. This signals not only deeper cooperation but also a shared anxiety over China’s increasingly aggressive behavior, including in the South China Sea. The forthcoming pact, which is expected to be finalized next year, follows a Statement of Intent on Enhanced Defense Cooperation that was signed in August by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles in Manila. The deal will include the development of defense infrastructure in the Philippines, with eight projects planned across five undisclosed locations.
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While careful not to overstate the move, the subtext was clear. “China’s behavior, as a whole, is becoming more assertive and as China’s military power has grown, it’s become more confident in how it uses that military capability in the region,” one of the officials said. Its aggressiveness has also gone beyond the South China Sea, they said. “While we see that the People’s Liberation Army are operating in the South China Sea, it is also occurring simply into the Southwest Pacific. We increasingly see PLA assets operating and also out into the Indian Ocean,” one of the officials said, mentioning the PLA naval task group that conducted a full circle around the Australian continent and also conducted a live-fire exercise in the oceans between Australia and New Zealand early this year.
The partnership of the two Indo-Pacific nations builds on an already extensive framework of defense accords, including the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), which for years made Australia the only country other than the United States to enjoy that level of military access to the Philippines. In the last two years, however, Manila has rapidly expanded that circle to include Japan, New Zealand, and most recently, Canada. Similar talks are also underway with France and will soon start with the United Kingdom. This recalibration of the Philippines’ defense posture reflects the increasingly volatile nature of the maritime environment. The Philippines sits at the frontline of regional power competition. Its geography makes it a potential flashpoint in both the South China Sea and any future Taiwan contingency. Strengthening its defense posture, therefore, serves the bigger goal of maintaining a “free and open” Indo-Pacific – a principle that is among Australia’s national core interests.
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