MANILA: The Philippines and Japan signed a key defense pact on Monday, allowing the deployment of troops on each other’s soil for joint military exercises amid escalating tensions in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement was signed at a ceremony in Manila by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and was witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Under the agreement, Japanese forces will be able to deploy to the Philippines for combat training and vice versa. The pact, which is the first of its kind to be signed by Japan in Asia, would take effect after ratification by the countries’ legislatures.
The deal coincides with China’s increasing activities in the disputed South China Sea and follows a string of maritime confrontations between Manila and Beijing in the contested waters.
“The RAA brings our defense partnership to an unprecedented height,” Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo said at a joint press conference.
“We reaffirmed our shared goals of ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, promoting regional economic growth, and addressing the increasing and complex challenges in the region and beyond.”
Tokyo and Manila are also working together to improve the capacity of the Philippine Coast Guard, Manalo said, which includes Japan’s financing of new maritime vessels for the PCG that will enhance its “ability to patrol our vast waters and to conduct maritime law enforcement.”
After signing the agreement, Manalo and Teodoro held talks with Kamikawa and Japan’s Defense Minister Minoru Kihara on ways to further deepen relations.
“We have confirmed that we will work to strengthen the international order, which is open to all, to promote security and defense cooperation, and to work with the region and the international community on these issues,” Kamikawa said.
Japan has had a long-standing territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea, while Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships have been involved in a series of tense incidents in the South China Sea since last year.
The Philippines said China disrupted a resupply mission in the contested waters last month with an “aggressive and illegal use of force” in an incident that saw a Filipino navy officer lose a finger.
The incident sparked statements of support from the international community, including Japan, which expressed serious concern over “dangerous actions” in the South China Sea.
Manila and several other countries have overlapping claims in the resource-rich waterway, where the bulk of the world’s commerce and oil transits. The strategic waters were claimed by China almost in its entirety, though it was rejected in a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague.
Don McLain Gill, an international studies lecturer at De La Salle University in Manila, said Monday’s agreement showed Japan’s “steadfast commitment in being the Philippines’ major economic and defense partner.”
Under the new pact, Japan might be able to join the Philippines and the US for their annual joint drills known as Balikatan, which this year involved more than 16,000 military personnel, said Joshua Espena, vice president of Manila-based research organization International Development and Security Cooperation.
“The RAA will prove to be a critical upgrade to the Philippine-Japan security partnership,” Espena told Arab News.
“While Tokyo is trying to improve its image away from its World War II legacy, it is also taking more commitments to contribute to the regional order, hence the massive outreach and assistance to Manila,” he said.
“Since the RAA will ensure the flow of forces from Japan to the Philippines and vice versa, this means a more sustained forward presence between the two US allies in fostering collective deterrence against China.”
