After Japan, Philippines eyes defense pacts with Canada, NZ, France

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines aims to seek more reciprocal access agreements (RAA) with nations that have similar defense interests, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Monday. 

The RAA signed with Japan on July 8 will “not be the last,” Teodoro said in an interview on ANC ahead ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's State of the Nation Address.

The defense chief said the Philippines is looking at having a similar deal with Canada, New Zealand and France, countries that expressed support to the Philippines during the aggression of Chinese maritime elements in the West Philippine Sea. 

Reciprocal access agreements are security pacts between two countries that agree to move their military forces between their sovereignties as needed for training and operations. The Philipines' RAA with Japan, the first involving a Southeast Asian nation, is yet to be ratified in Congress.

The agreements would enhance interoperability, enabling the armed forces of the “like-minded countries” to operate within Philippine territory and allowing Philippine military personnel to do the same in those countries, Teodoro said.

The RAA signed with Japan in the second week of July stipulates that the armed forces of Japan and the Philippines can deploy to each other’s territories for joint drills. 

“It is close to the apex of a defensive alliance, but not atop of the mutual defense treaty,” Teodoro said. 

This development comes a day after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that the Philippines and China had agreed on resupply mission protocols in the West Philippine Sea.

The defense chief said the DFA has not yet provided the DND with the specifics of the agreement. 

He emphasized, however, that the Philippines remains committed to protecting its rights and sovereignty within its exclusive economic zone. 

“We cannot be deterred from doing what we need to do in order to build up our credible defense posture which includes our alliances with like-minded nations for the upholding of a rules-based international order,” he said.

The access agreement with France, New Zealand and Canada is expected to be signed next year.

Aside from Japan, the Philippines also has a bilateral visiting forces agreement with the United States since 1999 and with Australia since 2012.