Why Manila, Tokyo see eye-to-eye on rushing defense deal

THE PHILIPPINES and Japan have sharpened their focus on a targeted deal that would give Japanese troops easier access to the Southeast Asian nation, following recent tensions in the South China Sea, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said on Monday.

Geopolitical analysts said the proposed Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) is unlikely to face setbacks since the two countries believe that it is beneficial to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region, beset by many authoritarian challenges, including China’s expansionist agenda and nuclear threats from North Korea.

Speaking to media in Tokyo, Mr. Marcos said he and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio want the RAA done as soon as possible.

“I think both the Prime Minister and I agree ASAP (as soon as possible),” he said on Monday, after the two leaders held a bilateral meeting on Sunday. “All of this as soon as possible… if not, sooner.”

While RAA talks between the two countries had been in the works “way before” China’s increasing intrusions into Philippine waters, “the incidents in the past few couple of months have certainly sharpened our focus when it comes to that,” Mr. Marcos said.

“That’s one of the things that I’m looking forward to,” he added. “That will have a very big multiplier effect on our capabilities.”

Mr. Marcos said the Philippines is forging such a security arrangement not only with

Japan, but also with other countries amid increasing tensions in the South China Sea. “We also have the same kind of negotiations or discussions with many other countries,” he said.

PROVOCATION BY NORTH KOREA

Aside from China’s aggressive moves at sea, the Indo-Pacific region has also been beset by North Korea’s launching of missiles, including a long-range missile test on Dec. 17, which Mr. Marcos described as provocative.

“We join Japan, together with the rest of the ASEAN, in condemning the continued threat that the launching [of ] ballistic missiles by the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] represents,” he said before delivering his speech at the meeting of Asia Zero Emission Community leaders at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, Japan, based on a press release from office.

Such “dangerous and provocative actions” by North Korea, Mr. Marcos said, “threaten and destabilize the region and the world.”

The alleged intercontinental ballistic missile — which was likely the third of the Hwasong-18 missile that North Korea also launched in April and July, flew about 1,000 kilometers from Pyongyang before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to the military of South Korea, which was likely a target of the test following its moves to boost its nuclear deterrence plans with the United States.