Australian troops could soon be deployed in the Philippines for 'quick stops' with the approval on Tuesday of the defence pact between Canberra and Manila, which outlines the rules that will govern the Diggers' visit in the island republic.

The Philippine Senate overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, 17-1, which is a similar arrangement that the Asian country has previously approved in 1998 with the United States.

The legislative green light would soon allow temporary stationing of Aussie soldiers in the Philippines purportedly to ramp up efforts by regional stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific region to increase their security blankets.

The Philippine Senate itself has conceded that the new defence arrangements with Australia would lend the financially-strapped nation some semblance of viable protection from the perceived aggressive expansion, political and economic, of China.

"The ratification ... will not only pave the way for us to improve our defence mechanisms, it will also solidify our decades-old relationship with Australia," Agence France Presse (AFP) reported Philippine Senate chief Juan Ponce Enrile as saying in a statement.

Political observers noted that the Senate approval came almost five years in the making as the military agreement was first sealed in 2007.

It took Philippine senators a number of years to weed out the constitutional complications of the defence deal as the country's basic laws explicitly prohibit the long-term deployment of foreign troops within its territories.

Labelling troop stops as 'visiting forces' partially circumvented the questions being raised on the matter, though analysts said as far as Manila is concerned, giving a nod on the military partnership with Canberra has become a necessity in light of its heightening dispute with China over territorial claims in the contentious South China Sea.

Many observers noted that the usually belligerent Philippine senators finally allowed the pact to sail through as Beijing formally inaugurated a city in the disputed areas, which it now called as the Sansha Municipal Government.

The new governing council, according to Xinhua, covers Xisha, Nansha and Zhongsha islands, which for Vietnam is where Paracel Islands are also located while Philippine authortities label the area as Kalayaan Islands.

For the international community, the disputed area is comprised mainly of atolls and small island pockets, with Spratlys Island as the major landmark.

The body of water also serves as the trading route that more than 30 per cent of global commerce transactions regularly take, which underscores its strategic importance.

In a statement, Philippine President Benigno Aquino called the development "an important step in enhancing our national and regional security by ratifying the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement between Australia and the Philippines.

Manila is eager to count as many allies as possible, analysts said, following the rejection it met at the last ASEAN summit, when the country failed to win enough support for its territorial spar against Beijing.

The nation now relies on the United States, which has recently realigned its global military priorities for more active involvement in the Asia Pacific, with of course sufficient backings from its traditional allies in the region, mainly led by Australia.

On its part, Australia has been reinvigorating its ties with regional partners and the new military pact with the Philippines is seen as part of such ongoing effort, which also includes closer military ties with Indonesia.

Also in November 2011, Prime Minister Julia Gillard allowed the stationing of U.S. Marines in northwest Australia, deployment of which commenced early this year and should be completed by 2017.