Against the backdrop of rising tensions with China in the South China Sea, the Philippines has shifted its defense diplomacy into high gear. Manila recently finalized a vital security pact with Japan that is set to dramatically enhance interoperability and bilateral defense cooperation. Under the newly signed Reciprocal Access Agreement, or RAA, the two countries will establish legal frameworks and logistical procedures for mutual troop exchanges. The de facto visiting forces agreement also facilitates expansive and regularized joint drills and military exercises between the Philippine and Japanese armed forces, including their first bilateral naval exercises in the South China Sea, which began today.
Crucially, the RAA will also facilitate the transfer, exchange and joint development of advanced weapons systems, which are crucial to the modernization of the Philippine military as well as in promoting Japan’s increasingly proactive regional defense policy. The intensification of Philippines-Japan defense cooperation comes on the heels of both sides participation in two new “minilateral” defense groupings: the Japan-Philippine-U.S. trilateral framework as well as the new “Squad” grouping comprising Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the United States.
As if that weren’t enough, Manila has made it clear that it’s also pursuing RAAs with Canada, New Zealand and France. To enhance its maritime security capabilities, the Philippines has conducted increasingly regular joint drills and naval patrols with both its traditional and new defense partners, including the U.S., Japan, Australia, Canada, India and France. In the words of Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., his country is pursuing something “close to the apex of a defensive alliance."