ABOARD THE PRESIDENTIAL PLANE – After concluding his first official visit to Japan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he would support entering into a reciprocal military access agreement with Tokyo if it would help protect Filipino fishermen and the Philippines’ maritime territory.

Marcos said this in an interview with reporters on board PR001, the presidential flight back to Manila on Sunday, February 12, after capping his ninth overseas trip as President.

“I think in general, if it will be of help to the Philippines in terms of protecting our fishermen, protecting our maritime territory, if it’s going to help….I don’t see why we should not adopt it,” Marcos said.

The statement comes after Marcos held a 45-minute bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, where the two leaders agreed to commit to “economic security” and deepen defense ties between their two countries.

Philippines still studying

Marcos said Kishida raised the prospect of a potential reciprocal access or status of forces agreement during their meeting “very briefly,” to which he replied that the agreement was under study by the Philippines.

“It depends really upon the Philippines if we want to go and accelerate what we have already,” he said.

What the Philippines and Japan did agree to during Marcos’ visit was the terms of reference on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activities between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Japan Self-Defense Forces – an agreement that paves the way for joint exercises and drills between the countries’ forces on this front.

While focused on disaster relief, regional analysts and observers see the effort as moving one step closer to a reciprocal military access agreement because it involves elements that a similar military access deal would cover.

This includes an agreement on the number of Japanese troops that would participate in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activities, as well as their legal status while in the Philippines. 

Talks on the possibility of entering into a military access agreement with Japan first started in 2015 under the Benigno S. Aquino III administration, which pursued the effort against the backdrop of China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

Over the years, Japan has played an active role in bolstering the Philippine Coast Guard’s capabilities, supplying at least 10 ships to the armed service. Today, the vessels are used to patrol Philippine waters, including those in the West Philippine Sea.

On Sunday, Marcos said the Philippines would reopen formal talks with Japan “as soon as we get back.”

“We’ll talk to the embassy of Japan and then we’ll start,” he said.

Balancing ties, tensions

While open to strengthening security ties with Japan, Marcos expressed caution, saying he did not want the Philippines’ efforts to appear “provocative.”

“Ang iniisip ko lang, yung ating fishermen maprotektahan, kailangan maliwanag na tayo, sa Pilipinas, we are patrolling our waters and making sure that it is well recognized na yan ang talagang…maritime territory ng Pilipinas. That’s the intent,” he said.

(In my opinion, our fishermen need to be protected and we need to be clear that us, in the Philippines, we are patrolling our waters and making sure that it is well recognized that that is really the maritime territory of the Philippines. That is the intent.)

Marcos added, “As long as we can achieve that, if it is appropriate, if it does not constitute a danger of increasing tensions, then it might be useful for the Philippines.”

Nearly a decade since the Philippines and Japan started talks on a possible agreement, China has managed to patrol and maintain an almost daily presence at key maritime features in Philippine waters as of 2022. Like the Philippines, Japan remains locked in a maritime dispute with China in the East China Sea. – Rappler.com