A smaller ‘summit for two’ in Manila this week produced a crucial agreement for Indo-Pacific security, especially in the South China Sea. On Monday, Japan and the Philippines signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) to improve interoperability between the two countries’ militaries and reduce bureaucratic ‘red tape’ in conducting joint exercises, formally laying out the procedures for co-operative activities while the force of one country is visiting the other country.
Before signing the agreement, Japan’s defence and foreign affairs ministers met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who “expressed his desire to further deepen bilateral relations and Japan-U.S.-Philippines trilateral co-operation,” according to a Japanese readout. Japan also has RAAs with Australia and the U.K.
Following a ‘2+2’ meeting of defence and foreign affairs ministers, the two countries issued a joint statement, registering their “serious concern over the dangerous and escalatory actions by China” around Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippines has borne the brunt of Beijing’s recent aggression in that area, culminating last month with the ramming of Filipino ships by China Coast Guard vessels.
Buoys and boat-ramming frustrate Manila, Tokyo
This week, Japan criticized China over a separate maritime offence: the unsanctioned installation of a Chinese buoy in Japanese waters. Beijing said the buoy — floating off the small, uninhabited island of Okinotorishima, 1,700 kilometres south of Tokyo — is meant for tsunami observation.
The Japan Times reported that the region where the buoy is floating is “believed to be rich in undersea mineral resources.
