DND Press Release
March 27, 2026

École Militaire, Paris, France

On March 26, 2026, Philippine Secretary of National Defense M. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and French Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans, Ms. Catherine Vautrin met for a bilateral meeting in Paris, during the landmark visit to France by the Philippines’ Defense Secretary.

The two ministers discussed current regional security issues in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East / South-West Asia and Europe, underscored the importance of multilateralism, rules-based international order, and called for the peaceful resolution of disputes and the strengthening of supply chain resilience in the context of crisis.

Both sides expressed adherence to the spirit and provisions of 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the primacy thereof, as well as the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea. The Philippines also welcomed France’s rapprochement towards ASEAN and the ADMM-Plus, and pointed out the very valuable participation of French representatives to the Expert Working Groups on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) and Maritime Security.

Both sides welcomed the fruitful dynamic of interactions between France and the Philippines, guided by the December 2023 Letter of Intent (LoI) on strengthening the bilateral defense relationship.

Secretary Teodoro and Minister Vautrin acknowledged the positive development of the cooperation, demonstrated by the regular convening of the bilateral defense dialogues, visits by defense and armed forces delegations, regular educational exchanges, port visits and aerial stopovers, as well as naval and disaster response training activities.

Both ministers recalled the successful negotiations for the Philippines-France Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), which culminated with the signing on Thursday (local time) in Paris. The Agreement will greatly bolster bilateral cooperation and offer an adequate level of legal protection to the joint activities between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the French Armed Forces.

Secretary Teodoro and Minister Vautrin reaffirmed their determination for a stronger long-term partnership and the common will to pursue the objectives of the December 2023 LoI, especially regarding the legal framework of the defense relationship.

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