PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

THE PROPOSED Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and Japan is the kind of military pact that would send a strong signal to China that nations within the same region are united amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, security analysts said on Sunday.

“It brings a stronger message to Beijing not to antagonize middle powers in the region led by Manila and Tokyo in the maritime squabble in the South China Sea,” Chester B. Cabalza, founding president of Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“The more it distracts and disrupts China’s aggression to bring the biggest Asian power to the table of negotiation and obey rules-based order,” he added.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Nov. 3 began talks on a reciprocal pact to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries amid maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

The RAA is deemed similar to the Philippines’ Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States in which the US has a constant rotating military presence in the Philippines mainly for training exercises.

Don McClain Gill, who teaches foreign relations at De La Salle University in Manila, said the RAA would complement Philippines’ VFA with non-Asian countries like the US and Australia.

“A potential RAA between both countries (Japan and the Philippines) will also simplify the degree of coordination between Japanese and Filipino forces, while also paving the way for faster deployment of troops,” Mr. Gill said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Speaking before a joint session of the Philippine Congress last Saturday, Mr. Kishida renewed Japan’s trilateral cooperation with the Philippines and the US to address tensions in the South China Sea.

“Through these efforts, let us protect the maritime order, which is governed by laws and rules, not by force,” Mr. Kishida said.

Mr. Cabalza said that such is Japan’s way of extending its bases in the Asia-Pacific region amid tensions with China.

“Japan’s intention to widen its military support to the Philippines reinvigorates a strategic thinking that Tokyo wants to diversify its rotational bases similar to what Washington has inked with Manila in the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement based from the volatile and evolving regional security architecture as China warms up its military might in the South China Sea,” he said.

He also said that this would not be “subject to abuse” as raised my human rights groups.

“I think the AFP has evolved already, courtesy of military modernization and current tilt to territorial defense or external security,” Mr. Cabalza said.

“First, there was no permanent base anymore. Instead it’s a rotational base which means the bases are owned by the Philippines. Secondly, the Philippines invites allies and strategic partners for RAA and military exercises and not the other way around. Thirdly, there is preferential treatment in the alliance or strategic partnership. This includes imposition of local rules to human rights violations to foreign soldiers. Lastly, cognizance of symmetrical relationship since both parties are perceived as friends and co-equal partners,” he said.

Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said that “majority” of the senators are in favour of the RAA, which will only proceed upon ratification of the Philippine Senate.

“We are pushing for the reciprocal access agreement… so we can have interoperability, [and] cross-training for our navy and coast guard,” Mr. Zubiri told reporters on the sidelines of the Japan leader’s speech before Congress.

“As we could see, the countries that have been helping us in our problem in the West Philippine Sea are the United States, Japan, and of course countries like Australia and South Korea,” he said in Filipino.

For his part, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the House of Representatives is willing to allocate specific appropriations in line with the RAA. “In our budget, we will support our coast guard, navy, armed forces, and other departments,” he told reporters.

Progressive group Anakbayan on Saturday said the Philippines can have a “truly independent foreign policy” without signing agreements with other countries.

It raised concerns that the RAA and other military partnerships could trigger hostilities, amplifying foreign countries’ power over the Philippines.

“We must build our own capacity to assert our sovereignty and our own independent, self-sustaining economy,” Anakbayan national spokesperson Kate Almenzo said.

“Our partnerships should also reflect our desire to boost our national capabilities. So, our cooperation should go beyond a buyer-seller model, but move towards improving our national capabilities by leveraging the vast technological and material capabilities of our partners,” Mr. Gill said.

Party-list Rep. Arlene D. Brosas also opposed the RAA, citing human rights abuses made by Japanese soldiers to “comfort women” during World War II.

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