France and Philippines elevate defence ties with historic air force mission first

“Noticeably, in the past three years, Paris has expanded its defence cooperation with the Philippines. A deeper, more comprehensive agreement seems like a natural progression,” said Don McLain Gill, geopolitical analyst and lecturer at De La Salle University’s Department of International Studies.

As part of its annual Pegase mission, this year will see a contingent of French aircraft making a stopover at Clark Airbase, located 93km northwest of Manila. Clark was formerly operated by the US military until 1991.

During its Philippine visit, the Pegase 24 mission will include two Rafale multi-role fighters, an A400M tactical lift aircraft, and an A330 aerial refuelling and military transport aircraft.

“During the stopover, bilateral activities are expected to help build the foundations of air-to-air cooperation between the two countries,” the Philippines’ Department of National Defence said in a statement on Monday, adding that it would be “a first in the history of Philippine-France defence relations”.

In June, France installed a resident defence attaché to the Philippines, just months after Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr and French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu met and committed to strengthening bilateral defence ties.

In April, over 16,000 troops took part in the Balikatan exercises, the joint annual maritime drills between Philippine and US forces. This year’s edition also included the participation of the French navy for the first time.

“France, together with the UK, is arguably the European nation bearing the greater strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific. It still holds territories in the region, and therefore, tensions arising here are a matter of national security for them,” Matteo Piasentini,