The Philippines and Japan have signed a reciprocal access agreement (RAA) allowing them to deploy their forces on each other’s soil, a milestone in their security relations amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
Philippines And Japan Sign Defence Pact
The Philippines and Japan have signed a reciprocal access agreement (RAA) allowing them to deploy their forces on each other’s soil, a milestone in their security relations amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific. Philippine defence minister Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa signed the deal in a ceremony in Manila witnessed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, presidential communications secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a message.
The agreement creates a framework to facilitate military cooperation, such as making the entry of foreign personnel and equipment easier for the visiting force. The deal, the first of its kind to be signed by Japan in Asia, would take effect after ratification by both countries’ legislatures, officials said. A Japanese military presence in the Philippines could help Manila counter Chinese influence in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s expansive maritime claims conflict with those of a number of Southeast Asia nations.
An international tribunal in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis, a ruling that Beijing rejects. Japan does not have any claim to the South China Sea but has a separate maritime dispute with China in the East China Sea, where they have repeatedly faced off.
The Philippines has a Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States and Australia. Tokyo, which hosts the biggest concentration of US forces abroad, has similar RAA deals with Australia and Britain, and is negotiating another with France. Japan has agreed to provide the Philippines with coastal surveillance radars, the first cooperation project under its Official Security Assistance programme that is aimed at helping boost deterrence capabilities of partner countries.
The accord would provide the legal framework for Japan and the Philippines to send defence personnel to each other’s territory for training and other operations. The Philippines has been a key focus of US efforts to build an arc of alliances, owing to its position in the South China Sea and proximity to Taiwan, which China claims as its own.
