Why New Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement Matters
Why New Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement Matters
New Indo-Pacific defense pact foreshadows future cooperation between both countries and like-minded partners across key domains amid proliferating minilaterals.
The signing of a new Japan-Philippines defense pact foreshadows potential future security cooperation between both countries as well as other like-minded Indo-Pacific partners across domains.
WonkCount: 1,346 words (~6 minutes)
Why New Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement Matters
Background
Japan and the Philippines finally signed on July 8 a key defense pact known as the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), capping a series of pacts that Manila has signed with partners across four continents in just over half a year (see ASEAN Wonk table below)1. The signing of the RAA came as both sides held the second iteration of their “2+2” meeting between foreign and defense ministers2. In addition to the Philippines-Japan RAA, Manila so far this year has signed two defense pacts with Britain and Canada in January; a mutual logistics pact with New Zealand in June; and a letter of intent to upgrade defense ties with France in December. Visiting forces agreements — which Manila has traditionally only had with Australia and the United States — were also publicly cited as being considered in the case of Canada, France and New Zealand3. As we have detailed previously on ASEAN Wonk, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has made networking with like-minded countries a cornerstone of his administration’s foreign and security policy thus far. This has accelerated amid China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea.
Major Recent Philippine Defense Pacts with Partners
The signing cements an undertaking that has been years in the making at a critical juncture in Philippine security and foreign policy. The new RAA comes on the back of the June 17 China-Philippine crisis in Second Thomas Shoal, but its origins date back further. Talk of new Japan-Philippines defense pacts date back to the time of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III (2010-2016), and the RAA commitment was made back in April 2022 under Marcos’ predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, even as he had earlier disrupted key U.S.-centered security networking4. It also occurs amid the rise of new “multilayered” configurations of security cooperation for the Philippines, with Japan as a core player as officials publicly acknowledged at the “2+2”5. This includes the U.S.-Japan-Philippines trilateral elevated to the summit level in April and the U.S.-Australia-Japan-Philippines quadrilateral (or “Squad”) which last met in May6. After the RAA’s signing, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel called the RAA "another layer in the latticework” of Indo-Pacific security partnerships, using a term the Biden administration has popularized7. ASEAN Wonk also understands from officials that quieter discussions are ongoing to various degrees in areas like cyber and economic security, following leader-level interactions last year between the two sides8.
Significance
The RAA is an inflection point for Philippine-Japan defense ties and for the region. RAA provides Japan with a key regional node for defense engagement in Southeast Asia, in addition to the boost for Philippine security networking mentioned earlier. Manila’s strategic location amid key sea lanes and in an “increasingly severe” security environment was in fact explicitly acknowledged during the signing9. Japan has been utilizing other defense pathways as well beyond agreements. A case in point is its dispatching of Official Security Assistance (OSA), a new framework set out in 2023 which Tokyo has since sought to concretize with priority states including the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam10. Bilaterally, the RAA establishes procedures for Manila and Tokyo to pursue cooperative activities that involve defense forces visiting the other country, including for more engaged exercises11. This is still a rarity for both sides. For perspective, this is the first of the Philippines’ recent wave of new proposed partner defense pacts that has actually been signed, while it is the third for Japan (Tokyo also signed recent RAAs with Australia in 2021 and the UK in 2023).
The RAA also provides a sense of how the Philippines is crafting security agreements with other like-minded partners, and what we may expect in terms of substantive movement in defense ties in the coming years (see ASEAN Wonk table below on datapoints to monitor and their significance. Paying subscribers can also read on for more on what to watch in our “Prospects” section).
Areas to Watch in Japan-Philippines Security Partnership and Key Provision Coverage in New RAA
