A Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and Japan is expected to boost the defense capability of the former, especially in the face of the growing aggression of China in the West Philippine Sea.

An MDT with Japan, similar to the defense agreement signed by the Philippines and the United States in 1951, is now within reach following the signing of a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) on Monday.

Without confirming whether it was possible or not, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said that an MDT between Manila and Tokyo could happen depending on how “circumstances” develop.

“I think that all will depend on how circumstances develop,” Manalo told reporters in the joint press conference with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and their Japanese counterparts, Kamikawa Yoko and Kihara Minoru, respectively.

“I think the RAA is an important document because it enables the Philippines and Japan to now have a framework for cooperation in defense and security and other related issues,” Manalo said.

He continued: “And I think whether we would need to expand it to cover other areas or not will really depend on how the situation develops and also in what areas we wish to proceed and how to further develop the RAA.”

The Foreign Affairs chief was asked if the Philippines and Japan were considering forging an MDT amid the escalating tension in the WPS.

Signed in 1951, Article IV of the MDT between the US and the Philippines states that each party “recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.”

Meanwhile, the RAA, which is said to be “equivalent” to the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States, would allow the transfer of defense personnel between the Philippines and Japan for training and disaster relief operations.

With the signing of the RAA, Manila is the first member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to have such an agreement with Tokyo.

Over the past years, tensions between Manila and Beijing have escalated as China has become increasingly aggressive in obstructing the Philippines’ rotation and resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in the WPS.

China’s actions against Philippine vessels and crew members have included the use of water cannons, laser pointing, dangerous maneuvers and ramming of boats, among other hostile tactics.