Source: International Business Times
New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins (L) and Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro (R) sign a visiting forces pact on Wednesday as President Ferdinand Marcos (C) looks on AFP The Philippines and New Zealand signed an agreement on Wednesday allowing the deployment of troops on each other's territory, a move aimed at bolstering security in a "deteriorating" strategic environment. The visiting forces pact is the latest in a series Manila has secured in the face of ongoing confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea. China has deployed navy and coast guard vessels to bar the Philippines from important reefs and islands in the strategic waterway, which Beijing claims nearly in its entirety despite an international ruling its assertions are baseless.
