Manila, Nov. 2 -- Canada on Sunday became the fifth country to sign a defence agreement with the Philippines, enabling both nations to deploy military personnel in each other's territory and deepen defence cooperation, according to Anadolu Agency.

The Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) was signed in Makati City following a bilateral meeting between Philippine Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty, it said.

Teodoro said that, while information-sharing and people-to-people relations between the two countries are already "robust," the new pact "would make that robustness enduring," according to local media outlet ABS-CBN.

"Beyond this agreement, we recognise its strategic value...