US welcomes PH-Japan RAA; hopes for ‘more complex’ regional drills

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 12, 2024): US welcomes PH-Japan RAA; hopes for ‘more complex’ regional drills (By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora)

RAA LAUDED. United States Ambassador MaryKay Carlson speaks at a Stratbase ADRI forum commemorating the 8th anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Ruling in Makati on Friday (July 12, 2024). The US welcomed the signing of the reciprocal access agreement (RAA) between Japan and the Philippines. (PNA Photo by Robert Alfiler)

MANILA – The United States on Friday welcomed the signing of the reciprocal access agreement (RAA) between Tokyo and Manila, which will lift restrictions on military exchanges between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).

Speaking at a Stratbase ADRI forum commemorating the 8th anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Ruling in Makati, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said Washington DC is “encouraged by the opportunities enabled” by the two states’ RAA.

“To quote Assistant Secretary of Defense (Ely) Ratner again, ‘The future we’re striving for is one with greater interoperability and cooperation among like-minded Indo-Pacific partners’,” she said.

“And this means enhanced reciprocal access, more participation in larger and more complex regional exercises, greater investment together in advanced capabilities – and the Philippines stands at the intersection of all of that,” she added.

The Philippines, US, Japan and other like-minded states engage in a series of multilateral maritime cooperative activities to promote a rules-based order and a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region in the face of China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

In signing the RAA on July 8, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tokyo and Manila would be able to further boost defense ties and facilitate joint exercises against the backdrop of a security environment becoming “increasingly severe”.

It clarified, meanwhile, that the agreement is not targeting any country.

Last April, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. conveyed his openness to have Japan in the country’s annual Balikatan exercises with the US. In this year’s iteration, Australia and France participated in the drills while Japan joined as observer.

French-PH VFA

In the same forum, French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel expressed hopes that the next visiting forces agreement (VFA) Manila would sign would be with France.

“Now that the spectacular negotiation with Japan has come to the impressive results we saw last week. Congratulations on that. We are working very hard to be one of the countries next in line,” she said.

Fontanel said Paris has been tasked to craft the first draft of the VFA but no specific timeline has been set as of yet.

“They did not commit to any specific timing but maybe by September, autumn period, France will be in a position to issue the first draft and that would be then possibly be the start of discussions,” she said in a separate interview.

Similar to Tokyo, she clarified that the possible France-Philippines VFA is not designed to target any state.

“Being partners facing both joint challenges in the international scene, believing in the multilateralism force, we just want to strengthen our partnership. It’s really not designed to target anyone else,” she said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1228870