Japan-Philippines Relations
Signing of the Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement
On July 8, at 10:45 a.m. local time (11:45 p.m. Japan time), Minister Kamikawa, in the presence of His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines, signed the Agreement between Japan and the Republic of the Philippines Concerning the Facilitation of Reciprocal Access and Cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (“the Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement”, or “the Japan-Philippines RAA”) with Hon. Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr., Secretary of National Defense of the Republic of the Philippines. The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. KIHARA Minoru, Minister of Defense of Japan, and Hon. Enrique A. Manalo, Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines.
- The Japan-Philippines RAA is an agreement which establishes procedures for the cooperative activities that are conducted by forces of Japan and the Philippines while the force of one country is visiting the other country and defines a legal status of the visiting force. The Philippines is the third country with which Japan signed the RAA, following Australia and the United Kingdom.
- It is expected that the Japan-Philippines RAA will facilitate the implementation of cooperative activities, such as joint exercises and disaster relief between Japan and the Philippines and improve interoperability between the forces of the two countries.
- As the security environment in the region becomes increasingly severe, the signing of this important security-related agreement with the Philippines, a strategic partner located at a strategic juncture on the sea lanes and sharing fundamental values and principles with Japan, will further promote security and defense cooperation between the two countries and firmly support peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
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