Japan has ratified its reciprocal access agreement (RAA) with the Philippines six months after Manila did, with the long-awaited move seen as a signal that Manila has proved its value as a strategic and defence partner to Tokyo.
The ratification by the Diet follows Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s recent visit to the Philippines, with analysts previously observing that the trip suggested his administration was poised to finalise the agreement.
The RAA allows the deployment of Filipino and Japanese forces on each other’s soil for joint military exercises, including live-fire drills, amid mutual geopolitical tensions with China.
The Diet approved the agreement on Friday, half a year after the Philippine Senate. The pact was signed by Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in a ceremony in Manila in July 2024, which was attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.
“We welcome today’s approval of the Reciprocal Access Agreement between the Philippines and Japan by the House of Councillors, which completes the approval process in the Japanese Diet,” Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano said in a statement on Friday.
The RAA is expected to improve military collaboration between the two nations by simplifying the deployment processes for joint training and disaster relief missions.
