Ratification of PH, Japan reciprocal access deal pushed

(UPDATE) THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of National Defense (DND) asked the Senate to ratify the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and Japan saying the bilateral ties between the two countries have become an important aspect of regional stability in the Indo-Pacific.

Sen. Imee Marcos, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, on Monday tackled the proposed concurrence to the ratification of the RAA between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Self-Defense Forces of Japan.

Under the RAA signed on July 8, the Philippines and Japan will undertake more in-depth practical military cooperation and exercises.

Department of Foreign Affairs

«The RAA gives recognition to the promotion of international order based on the rule of law given the shared interests of the Philippines and Japan to global and regional peace and stability,» Marcos said.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Aileen Mendiola-Rau said the signing of the RAA is an «important milestone in the security cooperation between the Philippines and Japan amidst an increasingly complex regional security environment.»

Mendiola-Rau said the RAA provides a «legal and administrative framework for the entry into and departure of the defense forces vessels, aircraft and equipment of a party to the territory of the other party for the purposes of training.»

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Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said that the RAA was patterned after the Australia-Japan RAA and the UK-Japan RAA and is not a military basing agreement.

«It is hoped that the honorable Senate shall ratify the agreement in the soonest possible time so that the mechanisms under the same may be drawn up subject to the guidance and oversight naturally by the visiting forces agreement and the Senate,» Teodoro said.

Mendiola-Rau said that the RAA «will further promote bilateral security and defense cooperation between the Philippines and Japan and will firmly contribute to initiatives towards a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific.»