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.
Two senior Australian officials, speaking on background to Southeast Asian journalists, including myself, during a maritime security reporting tour hosted by the Australian government in late October, said that the upcoming agreement “gives us more rights for our milita
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