RAA allows bilateral exercises, purchase of equipment
The Philippines and Japan signed a key defense pact on Monday that will allow the deployment of troops on each other’s territory, as they boost ties in the face of China’s growing assertiveness.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) was finalized in Manila during talks between Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Philippine Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro and Foreign Affairs secretary Enrique Manalo.
“I’m glad that having witnessed the commencement of this agreement that it has now come to fruition and that we are ready now to sign the Reciprocal Agreement,” President Marcos said during the signing ceremony.
“Your presence here increases our confidence and the importance that the Japanese government puts on these extremely important agreements that we have,” Mr. Marcos said.
The agreement, first negotiated in Tokyo in November 2023 and refined in June 2024, originated from the inaugural Philippines-Japan Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting in April 2022.
Kamikawa welcomed the signing of the agreement which she said would help maintain and strengthen the free and open international order based on the rule of law.
“In particular, the fact that we are able to sign the RAA today is a great achievement following the leaders decided to launch negotiations at last November’s summit meeting,” she said.
Kihara, on the other hand, vowed to work closely with Teodoro in further realizing defense cooperation and exchanges between the two nations.
“The signature of the reciprocal access agreement today represents the cooperative relationship that our two nations enjoy, and I welcome this new development which reinforces the effectiveness of our defense cooperation,” the Japanese defense minister stated.
“Beyond our bilateral relations, Japan is also keen to deepen trilateral and quadrilateral ties, such as Japan, the Philippines, United States; or Japan, the Philippines, United States and Australia.”
Manalo underscored the importance of RAA as a “force for stability in the region, for greater prosperity.”
“I think that it would be a way of Japan and the Philippines cooperating to deal, not only with challenges, but how to take advantage of growing opportunities not only in the security field but also in the economic security field and other areas,” Manalo said.
Teodoro said the signing was “another milestone in our shared endeavour to ensure a rules-based international order, to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and particularly in our region.”
He described the agreement as “historic.”
The National Security Council said the RAA “will facilitate greater interoperability and mutual support between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Japan Self-Defense Forces, bolstering our collective capacity to respond to common challenges.”
Japan has consistently voiced its concerns about escalating conflicts in the Indo-Pacific, particularly regarding China’s continued aggression in the resource-rich maritime region which further escalates the tension between the countries involved.
Despite an international tribunal’s ruling in favor of the Philippines, which rejected China’s extensive claims over the West Philippine Sea, Beijing has maintained its stance.
While the RAA is being compared to the United States Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), President Marcos previously stressed that the two are different.
During an interview back in April, the chief executive clarified the RAA would not establish Japanese military bases in the Philippines, nor would it allow Japanese servicemen to freely roam Philippine cities.
There have been escalating confrontations at sea between Chinese and Philippine ships as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to nearly all of the strategic South China Sea.
The most serious happened on June 17 when Chinese coast guard personnel wielding knives, sticks and an axe surrounded and boarded three Philippine navy boats during a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal.
A Filipino sailor lost his thumb in the incident.
Tokyo and Beijing are also at loggerheads over disputed islands, controlled by Japan, in the East China Sea.
Japan invaded and occupied the Philippines during World War II but the two countries have since grown closer due to trade and investment and, more recently, to counter a resurgent China.
Japan is a key supplier of security equipment and technology to the Philippines, including patrol vessels and surveillance systems.
For his part, Senator Francis Escudero said the RAA will be scrutinized just like any treaty.
The RAA will be sent by the Executive to the Senate for its ratification.
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said the RAA will boost the country’s defense interoperability with its Asian neighbor.
“Japan is already an invaluable ally, and their assistance has been vital to the modernization of our Coast Guard and Navy. With this RAA, we can further strengthen our capacity-building through joint military exercises,” he said.
House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas, for her part, claimed the RAA was negotiated in secret.
“It is essentially another Visiting Forces Agreement that will allow Japanese Self-Defense Forces to participate in military exercises in the Philippines, primarily the US-PH Balikatan,” Brosas said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline Philippines, Japan sign Reciprocal Access Agreement