RP, Australia prepared to sign Visiting Forces Agreement

By Ronron
May 28, 2007

The Philippines and Australia are prepared to sign its own Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) similar to what the former has with the United States that will allow military exercises in either of the two countries, the Philippines’ Defense Department said on Monday.

In a statement, the Defense Department said the technical working group of both the Philippines and Australia already finalized the document for the SOVFA “and said document is ready for signing” by the officials of both countries.

The statement did not say when the signing will take place, but pointed out that the Philippine Senate will have to ratify the agreement as prescribed by the Constitution before it could take effect.

“The SOVFA is expected to provide a comprehensive legal framework that will support Australian Defense Forces (ADF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the conduct of activities of temporary nature in both countries,” the statement said.

“This Agreement contains key elements such as the basis of visits, entry and departure conditions, how training and exercises are to be conducted, carriage of arms, security and criminal jurisdiction, provisions, importation and exportation regulations, and environmental protection,” it added.

The statement stressed that all provisions in the SOVFA “are in accordance with the Philippine Constitution and existing laws.”

In a previous interview, former Defense Undersecretary Rodel Cruz, who personally worked on the SOVFA, said problems encountered with US authorities on the custody of convicted rapist US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith were considered in the Philippine’s SOVFA with Australia.

Smith was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment in December 2006 after he was found guilty by a Makati City court of a raping a Filipino woman in November 2005 at the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales. His transfer to the US Embassy in late December from the Makati City jail sparked calls of injustice and review of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement.

Without citing specifics, Cruz had said that the same problem involving Smith’s custody will no longer be experienced under the RP-Australia SOVFA.

“The SOVFA is a fair, balanced and reciprocal agreement that promotes our national interests,” the statement said.

Assuring that no permanent Australian forces base will be put up in the country, the statement said that the term “visit” in the Agreement refers to their “temporary presence” only in the Philippines “in an effort to enhance the military capabilities of both the Philippines and Australia.”

“The SOVFA offers opportunities and benefits to the AFP in terms of education and training, capacity-building, humanitarian assistance and disaster response,” the statement said.

“On the part of the Philippines, the document is viewed as a mechanism that would further strengthen RP-Australia partnership in combating common threats,” it added.

Both the Philippines and Australia have experienced, among others, the problem of terrorism./DMS