A self-defense pact

The recent agreement between the Philippines and Japan that allows the entry of military and naval forces into their countries can be called historic. This pact has been termed as a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA).

On the part of the Japanese, this is a landmark achievement. To understand why this is definitely a milestone on the part of Japan, one has to appreciate the background to this treaty.

Japan’s constitution was written right after the Second World War. People will still remember that during the Second World War, the Japanese invaded and conquered the whole of Southeast Asia, Korea and a large part of China.

However, Japan’s attempt to neutralize American forces by destroying Pearl Harbor failed to deter counterattacks. Eventually, the United States and its allies defeated Japan.

The price was whole-scale destruction of the Japanese archipelago, including the use of nuclear bombs against two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The post-war Constitution of Japan had a provision that their nation would never use war as an instrument of national policy. According to the same Constitution, its military and naval forces could only be used for self-defense.

It is to the credit of the Japanese government that its armed forces have kept faith with this provision in their Constitution. As far as I know, this article has never been amended. In fact, the Japanese military forces is officially known as the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

The signing of a military pact with the Philippines is Japan’s first military treaty in Asia. The motivation for this agreement is definitely the growing threat and aggressiveness by China in the waters around the Philippines and Japan.

During the presidency of Deng Xiaoping, China had peaceful and cooperative relations with its neighboring nations. At that time, China also did not claim the whole China Sea. It was when Xi Jinping became the head of China that the foreign policy of China became more aggressive and more imperialist.

It should be noted that China has pursued a more imperialistic foreign policy not only in the whole of Southeast Asia but also along its borders with India and in the whole of the Pacific Ocean.

During the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, he conducted a foreign policy that focused on appeasement of the China claim of waters that belonged to other countries, including the Philippines and Japan.

Understandably, other nations in this region have resorted to seeking allies who are always threatened by China’s aggression. For example, the Philippines has a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States and Australia. Japan has allowed the United States to build bases in its country. It also has a VFA with Australia and the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately, China’s aggression has brought a Cold War into this part of the world. In the history of the world, most military alliances come into existence by the need of certain countries to defend themselves and not by choice. It would be ideal if regional peace and stability could be brought about by negotiations and adherence to the rule of law.

This was the situation when Deng Xiaoping was the leader in China. However, China has dramatically changed since the takeover of Xi Jinping. Xi has partially removed the economic reforms that made the Chinese economy the second largest in the world. The Chinese entrepreneurs that were the movers of the Chinese economy like Jack Ma have lost their influence and have seemingly disappeared from the public space. China under Xi Jinping has also become more authoritarian. Even the practice of Communist Party agents being embedded in the private corporations has been restored.

There is a growing consensus among global economists that the Chinese economy is definitely not doing well. Joblessness among the young people, even college graduates, has become a major problem. One major problem in China now is a potential collapse of the property market.

One obvious sign of an economy in trouble is the number of Chinese that are illegally migrating to other countries. This is, for example, the case of the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in the Philippines where a lot of illegal Chinese migrants have been arrested. There are also proven examples of illegal Chinese migrants crossing the US-Mexico border and settling down in the United States without proper documentation.

China has condemned the Philippines’ recent VFA with Japan as an act that undermines regional peace and solidarity. However, China’s continued aggression could lead to the rise of a new alliance in the Indo-Pacific region similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance in the West.

This agreement between the Philippines and Japan can be rightly described as a self-defense pact brought about by necessity and the need to counteract China’s imperialist claims.