MANILA – The foreign ministers of security allies the Philippines and Japan on Thursday agreed to further refine provisions of a military pact to allow smoother exchanges of troops and equipment as China’s harassment in the South China Sea has shown no signs of easing.
Japan Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and his Filipino counterpart Ma Theresa Lazaro were locked in a closed-door bilateral meeting to review their countries “strategic partnership” in the fields of defense and the economy, significantly at a time tensions mount with China in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
During the two-hour meeting, the officials gave their nod to the “acquisition and cross servicing agreement” to provide the “logistical backbone for the execution of joint military training, operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations” among others. This falls under the so-called Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), which came into force in September last year.
The RAA is similar to a visiting forces pact the Philippines has with key military ally the United States. Ratified by both countries’ parliaments, it gives legal cover to troops from both sides joining in joint exercises, which have, off late, been focused on the South China Sea.
China, which claims most of the sea region, has accused the US and Japan of meddling into the affairs of Manila and Beijing.
The Philippines and China have diplomatically tried to deescalate the tension, even as Beijing continues to deploy larger fleets to the Southeast Asian nation’s seas. The stakes are inching to a tipping point, risking a territorial conflict from erupting into a full-blown war, experts have said.
“We reiterated the Philippines and Japan’s shared commitment to upholding a rules-based order governed by international law, and the importance of resolving disputes peacefully and through dialogue,” Lazaro said in a statement.
“In the maritime domain, we both recognized the value of promoting the rule of law, including the freedom of navigation and overflight, especially in the South China Sea,” she said, adding that the agreement “aims to enhance our mutual military interoperability and readiness.”
Japan, meanwhile, has committed about 341 million pesos (US$5.9 million) this year in support of the Philippine military’s continued military modernization program.
Both sides also agreed to establish broadband connectivity for the islands of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines’ three southernmost islands that are emerging from decades of militancy. Tokyo would spend about 617 million pesos ($10.63 million) to improve internet access there.
“Japan is a vital strategic partner of the Philippines, and our relationship will continue to be bound by shared values of democracy, respect for the rule of law, and a commitment to peace, stability, and prosperity in our region,” Lazaro said.
China was not mentioned by name by the officials, though both were clearly referring to it. Japan, like the Philippines, is locked in a bitter territorial dispute over the East China Sea, where Tokyo administers the uninhabited Senkaku islands. China, which refers to the chain as the Diaoyu Islands, has frequently sent coast guard vessels there.
Motegi, meanwhile, said that coastal radar systems under Tokyo’s Official Security Assistance (OSA) arrived in the Philippines on Wednesday (January 14) ahead of the bilateral meeting. He said he also discussed with Lazaro possible multi-role response vessels (MRRV) to be sent also through the OSA, though no further details were provided.
“Minister Motegi explained Japan’s view on the current situation in the Indo-Pacific,” according to a statement by Tokyo’s foreign ministry.
“The two ministers then shared serious concerns over the continuation and the intensification of the unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China sea and the South China sea and concurred to continue closely working together,” it stressed.
Japan was also fully behind the Philippines as this year’s chair of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, and notes that its “stability is crucial to the prosperity of the entire region.”
They also agreed to deepen “trilateral cooperation” with the US as vital for maritime security in the region in the face of China’s increasing assertiveness and boldness.
Jason Gutierrez was head of Philippine news at BenarNews, an online news service affiliated with Radio Free Asia (RFA), a Washington-based news organization that covered many under-reported countries in the region. A veteran foreign correspondent, he has also worked with The New York Times and Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Filipino soldiers will be serving tea to the gringos and Japanese war planners.
China’s “boldness” in punching through the Island Chain Trap imposed on her by gringo is something anybody would be doing in China’s position. Its success is proportional to the volume of animal noises coming out of Washington.
If China and Philippines swapped places – what would Philippines do? They would be “servicing” gringo and serving him tea