President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. said in a bilateral meeting on Sunday that the planned Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), which aims to maintain regional peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, will be a huge help to the Philippines and Japan.
The President met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the bilateral meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the 50th Commemorative Summit of the ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in Tokyo.
“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,” Marcos 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 two leaders will continue to work together to reach an early conclusion of the negotiations for the RAA.
The RAA is expected to significantly advance maritime cooperation between the two countries as it will facilitate the procedures and set guidelines when Philippine forces go to Japan for training and joint exercises, and vice versa.
This year, the Philippine delegation headed by the Department of National Defense, accompanied by negotiating teams from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Justice, held formal negotiations on the RAA in Tokyo from November 29th to 30th.
Marcos and Kishida also witnessed the exchange of signed agreements in the meeting. The signed agreements included the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Japan Coast Guard, and the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan as well as the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources.
Kishida assured Marcos that Japan would steadily provide coastal radar systems through Official Security Assistance. He also stated that Japan will further strengthen the cooperation in maritime safety capacity building based on the memorandum of cooperation between the Philippines and Japan’s coast guards.
Moreover, Japan’s Prime Minister also assured that Japan aims to have a free and open international order based on the rule of law, emphasizing the protection of human dignity.
