JAPAN and the Philippines are drafting implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the Recip-rocal Access Agreement between the two countries, the Armed Forces said yesterday.
Armed Forces spokesman Col. Francel Margareth Padilla made the remarks during a press briefing at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio four days after Japan’s Diet approved the agreement.
The RAA was signed by the defense departments of the two nations in July last year and was ratified by the Philippine Senate in December.
The RAA will allow Japanese forces to come to the country to conduct military and disaster re-sponse training with Philippine forces, and vice versa. It is similar to the Visiting Forces Agree-ment that the Philippines signed with United States in 1998. The Philippines also has a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia, signed in 2007.
Padilla could not immediately say when the IRR will be completed.
“We’re expecting this to happen soon but there’s really no (specific) timeline that was given,” she said.
Padilla could not immediately say if Japan will have wider participation the Balikatan exercises between US and Filipino troops with the RAA’s approval by Japan’s Diet.
Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the agreement will improve the capa-bility of the Armed Forces in protecting the country’s interest in the West Philippine Sea.
“We look forward to this because it will allow the AFP the opportunity to be able to interact with a first world country in terms of military-to-military activities,” he said.
Trinidad said the RAA will allow Filipino troops to have “hands-on training with modern weapon-ry” of Japanese forces.
“And it would also be an eye-opener to us on what there is as a way ahead for the Armed Forces modernization program,” he added.
Trinidad said details of the agreement will be “further ironed out” at the level of the defense department before it can be executed by the Armed Forces.
“This is just the legal reference or legal basis for both countries to be able to engage militarily. But details will have to be ironed out further,” said Trinidad.
