Japan and the Philippines signed a bilateral defence agreement on Monday, to enable joint exercises and enhance security cooperation in response to China’s increasing assertiveness in regional waters.
According to reports, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) treaty documents at Malacañang Palace, witnessed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
With the agreement’s implementation, Japan will join as a full participant in the Balikatan military exercises, conducted annually by the Philippines and the United States near the Southeast Asian country.
The Philippines has previously signed defence agreements with the United States and Australia and is currently pursuing another with France. Japan also has agreements with Australia and Britain, in addition to the Status of Forces Agreement with the US.
On June 17 of this year, Chinese and Philippine sailors had an altercation near the Second Thomas Shoal, located approximately 200 km from Palawan Island.
Reports indicate that Chinese forces inflicted injuries on Filipino navy personnel and damaged at least two military boats in the South China Sea. Filipino sailors have also accused Chinese coastguards of theft and damage to their equipment.
In June, General Romeo Brawner, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, criticized China for repeated confrontations with the Philippines in the South China Sea, labelling China’s actions as “pirate-like.” These confrontations persist despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling that China’s claims have “no legal basis.”
China has laid expansive claims to nearly the entire South China Sea, delineated by the Nine-Dash Line, and has reportedly constructed artificial islands and military outposts near the reef.
