As the respective foreign and defense ministers of Japan and the Philippines will formally meet this July, the signing of a defense deal will most likely happen, according to a Kyodo News report.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Kyodo News report. Some parts in boldface…
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Thursday that there is a “very strong possibility” for his country and Japan to sign an agreement allowing their defense forces to train in each other’s territories during a meeting involving the two nations’ foreign and defense ministers in July.
In an interview with Kyodo News, 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 Jr. 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-Defense 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.
Once both countries ratify the RAA, it will enable Japanese forces to participate in the annual large-scale Balikatan military exercise conducted by the Philippines and the United States, he said.
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 U.S. allies, have been strengthening bilateral defense 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 United States conducted a joint maritime exercise in the South China Sea, of which China claims almost the entire area as its territory.
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.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the anticipated defense deal between Japan and the Philippines will somehow deter China’s aggression on the sea?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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