Japan diet OK'd defense pact with PH —envoy

Japan's Diet on Friday ratified a key defense pact allowing the deployment of Japanese forces for joint drills with Filipino troops in the Philippines, Manila's top envoy to Tokyo said.

"We welcome today’s approval of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and Japan by the House of Councillors, which completes the approval process in the Japanese Diet," Philippine Ambassador Mylene Garcia-Albano said in a statement sent to GMA News Online.

The RAA, which similarly allows Filipino soldiers to enter Japan for joint combat drills, was approved by the Philippine Senate on December 2024

Garcia-Albano said the RAA is "a testament to the trust and enduring friendship between the Philippines and Japan."

"It will enhance our ability to work closely together in promoting a rules-based order governed by international law," she said.

Japan and the Philippines are establishing closer security ties in reaction to China's aggressive territorial assertions. China and Japan are also locked in a long-running territorial dispute over the Senkaku islands, which the Chinese call Diaoyu, in the East Sea.

A vital trading and shipping lane, the South China Sea, dotted with rocks, shoals, and reefs where rich oil and mineral deposits were found, are claimed in part or in whole by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. 

Manila largely won a landmark case against China’s massive claim in the South China Sea before an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, but Beijing does not recognize the ruling. 

Similar to Manila's Visiting Forces Agreement with its treaty ally, the United States, the RAA defense pact with the Philippines is the first to be signed by Japan in Asia. Japan signed similar agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom.

"We thank the Government and people of Japan for their steadfast support and continued collaboration," Garcia-Albano said. 

"We look forward to the full implementation of this agreement and to building an even more resilient and forward-looking partnership in the years ahead." 

The Department of National Defense also welcomed the development.

“This agreement follows President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to strengthen partnerships with like-minded countries. It is a step forward in building a trusted and reliable defense relationship, helping both countries contribute to a free, open, and peaceful Indo-Pacific region,” the DND said in a statement.

In a separate statement on Saturday, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said he was looking forward to the "full implementation of the RAA."

“I look forward to further strengthening collaboration between our Armed Forces and the JSDF (Japan Self-Defense Forces) in pursuit of our common peace and security goals,” he said.

“The AFP remains committed to defending national sovereignty while deepening cooperation with trusted partners… We thank our Japanese counterparts for their continued partnership and look forward to the full implementation of the RAA,” he added. — with Jiselle Anne Casucian/AOL/VBL, GMA Integrated News