The Philippines and Japan are signing a new security pact seen to help maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
In a statement on Sunday, Malacañang said Manila and Tokyo will sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) on Monday.
President Bongbong Marcos will witness the signing ceremony at the Palace.
The Philippines will be the 3rd country to have an RAA with Japan, following Australia and the United Kingdom.
On the same day, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Defense Minister Kihara Minoru are expected to pay a courtesy call to President Marcos in the Palace.
The RAA with Japan is a commitment made at the inaugural PH-Japan Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting or 2+2 in April 2022.
The first formal negotiations on the RAA were held in Tokyo on November 29-30, 2023.
It was led by the Department of National Defense (DND) along with the other delegations from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
