Philippines, Japan near reciprocal troops deal in move to counter China
- The pact allowing Manila and Tokyo’s defence forces to train in each other’s territories is expected to be signed next month
- Philippine defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the two sides would also hold talks about a military intelligence-sharing accord
Philippine defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Thursday that there is a “very strong possibility” for his country and Japan to sign an agreement allowing their defence forces to train in each other’s territories during a meeting involving the two nations’ foreign and defence ministers in July.
Teodoro stated that negotiations on a reciprocal access agreement were nearing conclusion, with no remaining contentious issues. These negotiations commenced in late November, following an agreement earlier that month between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to initiate talks aimed at enhancing security ties.
“It will allow your maritime forces … land [forces] and your air forces to train with us in a different environment [from what] you are used to,” Teodoro said, referring to possible cooperation between Japan’s Self-Defence Forces and the Philippine military.
It will be Japan’s first RAA with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the third following pacts with Australia and Britain, which took effect last year.
Teodoro, his Japanese counterpart, Minoru Kihara, Philippine foreign secretary Enrique Manalo, and Japanese foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa will attend the bilateral security meeting scheduled for July in Manila.
Teodoro said the Philippines and Japan would eventually consider holding talks about a military intelligence-sharing accord called the General Security of Military Information Agreement, which Manila is currently negotiating with Washington.
Japan and the Philippines, both US allies, have been strengthening bilateral defence ties in recent years in response to China’s intensifying provocative activities and territorial claims in the East and South China Seas.
The Philippines is deepening its security ties with other like-minded countries such as Australia. In April, the Philippines, Australia, Japan, and the US conducted a joint maritime exercise in the South China Sea, of which China claims almost the entire area as its territory.
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In order to “demonstrate to the world freedom of navigation,” Teodoro said his country hopes to conduct naval activities with the three allies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone “as often as possible”.
Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea were invalidated by a 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
“Such behaviour is not only a violation of Unclos, but also a violation of precepts the UN charter which lays upon each responsible state the duty to refrain from the use of force or aggression to enforce, particularly in this case, illegal territorial claims in the maritime domain,” he said.
The Chinese foreign ministry said this week the new rules were meant to protect the maritime order, and that there was no need to worry if there was no illegal behaviour by the individuals and bodies involved.
In a bid to monitor the areas where the Philippines exercises sovereignty, Manila is hoping to acquire additional coastal surveillance radars from Tokyo under Japan’s official security assistance, Teodoro said.
