By Jason Gutierrez
Japan and the Philippines could soon sign a pact strengthening military exchanges, with top defense and foreign officials from both countries set to meet in Manila next week, a Filipino navy spokesman and an analyst said Tuesday.
The so-called Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) will be the main topic of discussion when Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minuro and Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko meet with their Filipino counterparts, Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Enrique Manalo, here on July 8.
Japan has pursued this type of agreement with a handful of countries, such as the United Kingdom andAustralia. The RAA serves as a framework for Japanese security operations and training with other nations. Such a pact between Tokyo and Manila could pave the way for troop deployments in joint military drills and other security operations, such as coordinated maritime patrols.
The pact would provide abroader allianceagainst China, which in recent months has been increasingly assertive about its vast territorial claims to the South China Sea, said Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea.
“[The pact] will be a very historic [act] considering the international community now understands a pro-united front has to be put in place in order to check any attempts to disrupt the rules-based international order,” Trinidad said during a news conference on Tuesday.
Manila refers to South China Sea waters that lie within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippine Sea.
Trinidad said he was hoping the agreement would be signed next week.
Manila has a similar deal with Washington, the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, which sets the terms under which American military personnel can operate on Philippine soil. The U.S. now has access to nine military bases across the archipelago and has pledged U.S. $100 million for upgrades.
The agreement “could likely be signed” next week during the meeting, ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s annual State of the Nation Address on July 22, said security analyst Chester Cabalza, from the International Development and Security Cooperation.
“The timing of the [RAA signing between] Japan and the Philippines is a milestone military pact as China grows aggressively in the South and East China Sea,” Cabalza told BenarNews on Tuesday.
“It gives reassurance to Manila as Washington may also see a change of command in the White House come November,” he said, alluding to the U.S. presidential election in November.
Last year, Marcos told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that the pact would benefit both countries, which are involved in separate maritimedisputes with China.
While the Philippines and China have contending territorial claims in the South China Sea, Japan and China are locked in a dispute over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands) in the East China Sea.
The Philippine Department of National Defense said ministers would engage at next week’s meeting in Manila in comprehensive talks on bilateral, defense, and security issues in the region.
“These discussions will encompass a detailed exchange of views on broader regional and international matters, aiming to strengthen cooperation and mutual understanding between the two nations,” the department said in a statement on June 29.
Japan has backed the Philippines in its maritime dispute with China and supplied Manila with more than a dozen patrol vessels and other military equipment.
In 2020, the Philippines bought four mobile long-range air surveillance radar systems from Japan to bolster its detection capabilities. Two of the units have been delivered, while the final two are expected to arrive within the next two years.
In recent months, tensions between Manila and Beijing have led to numerous run-ins in the South China Sea, including anincidentnear a grounded Philippine navy ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, at Second Thomas (Ayungin) Shoal, during which a Filipino serviceman lost a finger.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment on the Japan-Philippine defense pact, but last week Beijing accused the Philippines of provocation by infringing on its sovereignty.
Jeoffrey Maitem and Mark Navales contributed to this report from Manila.
