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Japan hopes to see military access deal with PH ratified by June

Philippine News Agency

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora
April 30, 2025, 6:00 pm

MANILA -- The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expressed hopes the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with the Philippines could be ratified once the Diet or the Japanese parliament ends session in June.

Speaking to reporters following the two-day official visit of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday, Japan MOFA spokesperson Toshihiro Kitamura said the military access deal's ratification would be a "good step forward" to the two states' growing security cooperation.

"We have submitted that agreement to the Diet —we expect that the Diet will start discussions on that agreement very soon," he said.

"We cannot prejudge any kind of conclusion from process, but since the Diet will conclude before the end of June, we hope that that will be approved by the Diet by that time."

Once it enters into force, the official said the deal would facilitate joint operations between the two forces, including military drills.

In a summit meeting on Tuesday, Ishiba and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. promised to deepen security cooperation in the context of "strengthening deterrence for regional stability".

The two leaders agreed to begin negotiations on an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) to reinforce operational collaboration as well as facilitate talks on a potential security information deal.

The ACSA, Kitamura said, would help with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling needs when participating joint drills with the Philippine Navy.

"Since there is no legal framework, it is quite complicated to have the refueling from the Philippine side. Under ACSA, it is quite easy to refuel or acquire some piece of equipment in case of accident," he said.

"It is a very technical agreement between the two countries. ACSA itself doesn't guarantee any kind of operation."

Meanwhile, Kitamura said the possible intelligence-sharing deal would help strengthen security cooperation between Tokyo and Manila but said there is no decision as of yet whether the two states are gearing to concluding one.

"To be honest, we have not decided yet whether we'll conclude such agreement but since the joint activities between the two countries have been increasing, we believe that that information agreement will be useful to further promote such cooperation," he said.

On top of possible deals, Marcos and Ishiba agreed to deepen cooperation in maritime safety through base development, capacity improvement support, and joint training between Japan, the Philippines and the United States.

Ishiba's visit to the Philippines from April 29 to 30 comes ahead the two nations' 70th year of normalization of diplomatic ties. (PNA)