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May 29, 2007 | 10:25am

MANILA (AFP) - A defence pact to be signed later this week between Australia and the Philippines will signal closer military ties between the two countries, defence officials from both countries said Tuesday.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, who is currently touring New Zealand, is expected to sign a draft agreement later this week during a stopover in the Australian capital, Canberra.

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) will not automatically see the deployment of Australian troops to the Philippines as the agreement will need to be approved by the Philippine Senate.

The signing of the agreement would also see Australia donate 28 "shallow-water river boats," similar to those used during the Vietnam war, which would allow the Philippine military to patrol its vast inland waterways, said Philippine Assistant Defence Secretary Joji Aragon.

Philippine Defence Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said SOFA would be signed by Arroyo when she visited Australia later in the week.

The two countries have been negotiating the agreement for years and, if passed by the Senate, it will eventually see Australian troops engaged in military exercises in the Philippines.

Australian assistant defence secretary Ben Coleman told a press briefing in Manila Tuesday that the accord was needed because "we have a common interest in terms of a peaceful and secure region."

"In particular, we are dealing with common threats from terrorists in the region," he said without naming any group.

The Muslim extremist group Jemaah Islamiya (JI) has been described by both the Australian and US governments as the biggest single terrorist threat to the security of the region.

JI has been blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks in the region in recent years including an attack in Bali, Indonesia in 2002 which left more than 200 dead, many of them Australians.

JI militants are believed to be hiding in the southern Philippines and aiding local Muslim extremists.

Coleman said it was "premature" to discuss any date for the deployment of Australian troops in the Philippines or the locations for possible joint exercises in the country.

Philippine officials told the briefing that military ties between both countries were strong, with Filipino officers already being trained in Australia.