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Japan-Philippines visiting-forces pact comes into force as defense ties blossom

Japan and the Philippines are set to intensify joint military activities after a bilateral visiting-forces agreement entered into force on Thursday — a move that could potentially also pave the way for rotational deployments by Self-Defense Force personnel to the Southeast Asian country.
Known as a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), the pact will serve as the legal basis for Japanese and Philippine forces operating in each other’s countries, laying the groundwork for greater military cooperation amid escalating tensions between the two partners and Beijing in the disputed East and South China Seas.

After months of negotiations, the two U.S. allies signed the deal in July 2024, with ratification by their respective parliaments following in the months thereafter.

The pact stipulates jurisdiction in the event of a service member committing a crime or causing an accident in the other’s country. It also eases restrictions on the transportation of weapons and supplies for joint training and disaster relief operations, thereby streamlining procedures to make joint activities less costly and reduce the lead time needed to go from proposal to deployment.

“With this, we want to enable more streamlined and regular interactions between the JSDF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Philippine military spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla told The Japan Times in a recent interview.

“We consider Japan our strategic partner, so we want to conduct more joint exercises with them and enhance our ability to coordinate in terms of our shared security challenges,” Padilla added, calling the RAA with Japan “a significant milestone” in bilateral defense cooperation.

Among the expanded joint activities being discussed are more complex bilateral exercises and training in areas such as amphibious and cyberoperations, as well as command post, air and missile defense and drills related to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

“We would like both forces to enhance interoperability and familiarize with each other’s operating environments so we know how to react in case of a regional contingency,” Padilla noted.

The SDF’s involvement in multilateral exercises, including large-scale ones such as the annual Balikatan, is also likely to surge.

This year’s iteration of Balikatan, which wrapped up in May, saw the SDF’s first participation as an official contributor of personnel and equipment, having only sent observers to the drills since 2012. That said, Japan’s participation was only limited — something that is expected to change from next year.

Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Michael Logico, who was involved in managing the latest Balikatan, told The Japan Times that Manila plans to involve Japanese forces in concept development for upcoming exercises.

“We will then fully realize how much more the JSDF can contribute when it comes to future field-training exercises, and probably also some of the combined and joint all-domain operations,” he said.

At the same time, the RAA will strengthen trilateral cooperation with U.S. and possibly Australian forces, both of which have signed similar pacts with the Philippines.

The move is also likely to result in Japanese forces being granted greater access to Philippine bases, potentially even enabling rotational deployments.

When asked about the latter, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said earlier this year that he expects the RAA to result in some type of rotational deployment by the SDF.

“That comes with it,” he said in February. “Our experience with partners is that these exercises take place throughout the year, so, by necessity there will be a rotation of different kinds of service members depending on the agreed pace and what the countries can support and absorb.”

The visiting-forces pact with the Philippines is Japan’s fourth overall, following its 1960 Status of Forces Agreement with the U.S., and its RAAs with Australia and the U.K., both of which entered into force in 2023.

China is embroiled in territorial disputes with Japan and the Philippines, both of which sit on the so-called first island chain that links them with Taiwan — the flash point island that Beijing claims as its own.

Similar outlooks and shared concerns, along with an alignment of political values and strategic priorities, have been key factors driving Tokyo and Manila closer.

This has included boosted cooperative maritime activities, security training, humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief cooperation, as well as Tokyo’s provision of over a dozen coast guard vessels to Manila. The two sides are also aiming to deepen defense-industrial tie-ups.

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