Context: Recently, the government of Philippines has suspended plans to cancel the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a deal that is important to Washington’s moves to counter Beijing’s rising regional power.
Background

• On February 11, the Philippines officially sent a notice terminating the VFA to the United States through its embassy in Manila.
• Political analysts interpreted the reversal as a sign that China’s neighbours are worried about its growing military assertiveness. The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia all have disputes with China about its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

About Visiting forces agreement (VFA) 

• It is an agreement between a country and a foreign nation having military forces visiting in that country.
• VFA spells out the rules, guidelines and legal status of the U.S. military when operating in the Philippines.
• The VFA also affirms the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty as well as the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement — agreements that enable the U.S. military to conduct joint exercises and operations in the Philippines.
• The Philippine Senate ratified the VFA in 1999. 

Implications for the US

• Terminating the VFA would leave the U.S. military without any legal or operational standing in the Philippines — and that’s a problem for the alliance. Without a VFA, the U.S. military would not be able to support any defense agreements.

Implications for the Philippines

• The U.S. alliance and the VFA remain important to Philippine national security.
• In contrast to high degrees of trust and support for the United States, Filipinos hold much more negative attitudes toward China and remain wary of Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea.
• The Philippine public has also soured on Chinese foreign investment. The U.S.-Philippine alliance and the VFA therefore act as an insurance policy against Chinese threats.