The Philippines and Japan will greatly benefit from the planned Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) in maintaining regional peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Sunday.
In his preliminary remarks during his bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the 50th Commemorative Summit of the ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in Tokyo, Marcos said the strengthening relationship between the two countries was exemplified by the Official Security Assistance (OSA) that have been agreed upon as a result of the establishment of a strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan.
“We are in agreement that we considered to be extremely significant between our two countries is Reciprocal Access Agreement that will give us a greater capability in terms of not only security but also in terms of disaster preparedness, alleviation, and adjustment,” the President told Kishida.
“And that is something that is I believe is very, very significant and that it will bring to us greater capacity to maintain the peace in [the South China Sea],” he added.
The RAA is expected to greatly boost maritime cooperation between the two countries as the proposed RAA will facilitate the procedures and set guidelines when Philippine forces visit Japan for training and joint exercises, and vice versa.
Formal negotiations on the RAA were held in Tokyo on November 29-30 of this year, with the Philippine delegation being headed by the Department of National Defense, accompanied by negotiating teams from the Department of Foreign Affairs and FA and Department of Justice.
During the meeting with the Japanese leader, Marcos also cited the state visit of Kishida to the Philippines last month in which he addressed both Houses of Congress in a joint session.
“And you were able to address the joint Houses of Congress …and it is was a upon the request of our legislators that they like would like to hear from the Prime Minister of Japan as to what (are) the ways forward for us, between the Philippines and Japan,” Marcos told Kishida. PND
