DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr yesterday said the defense department is negotiating a reciprocal access agreement (RAA) with several countries including Canada, France and New Zealand.
“The RAA with Japan will not be the last RAA,” Teodoro said in a TV interview, referring to the PACT with Japan that was signed on July 8 in Malacañang and witnessed by President Marcos Jr.
The RAA with Japan provides legal framework to the conduct of combat training between Filipino and Japanese troops in the Philippines and in Japan. It is similar to the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the US and with the 2007 Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia.
Teodoro expressed hope the agreements will be signed by next year
“We are working on RAAs with several other like-minded nations as well,” he said.
Asked to name these countries, Teodoro said, “We are going to work on an RAA hopefully with Canada, with France… with New Zealand and with other countries that escape my memory at this time.”
Canada, France, and New Zealand have expressed support for the Philippines’ claim in the South China Sea which is being claimed in parts also by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and almost in its entirety by China.
China does not recognize a 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that says its expansive claim in the South China Sea has no basis under international law.
Teodoro said the new RAAs the department is working on will be similar to that with Japan.
“It will also involve interoperability. They will all look the same. They will allow the armed forces of these different countries to operate with the Philippine Armed Forces within the Philippine territorial jurisdictions and vice versa,” he said. “So it will increase interoperability between these countries.”
Teodoro also said he hopes the Senate will ratify the RAA with Japan as soon as possible so they can lay down the agreement’s implementing rules and regulations.
“We look forward to Japan’s soonest participation in not only multi-lateral exercises but developing our own bespoke bilateral exercises. As you know, this will be a fitting complement to Japan’s support for the Philippines’ defense posture,” he said.
Teodoro noted that Philippines has been a recipient of Japan’s security assistance, and the trust between the two sides has been established.
“We now need to build, engage in confidence-building measures in terms of interoperability between the Armed Forces and Japan Self-Defense Forces,” he said.
The RAA with Japan is similar to the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the US
