NEWS

RAA deal with Japanese PM will aid security, disaster preparedness

Tiziana Celine Piatos · Dec 17, 2023, 9:47 PM

President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold a bilateral meeting during the ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Commemorative Summit together with other ASEAN leaders leaders at the Prime Minister's Office, Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, 17 December 2023. Photo by Yummie Dingding/ PPA pool.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday agreed to have an "early conclusion" of their talks on a possible military deal under the Reciprocal Access Agreement.

Both Japan and the Philippines agreed to continue working together to bring the negotiations for the RAA to a quick end at the sidelines of the 50th Commemorative Association of Southeast Asian Nations -Japan Friendship and Cooperation Summit.

During his bilateral meeting with Kishida, the President stressed the value of the Official Security Assistance and the RAA after Japan gave the Philippines P235 million to help pay for a coastal radar system.

"This reciprocal access agreement that will give us a greater capability in terms of not only security, but also in terms of disaster preparedness and alleviation, adjustment and that is something that really is very, very significant to us and will bring to us a greater capacity to maintain the peace in the South China Sea," Marcos told Kishida.

"The other agreement that we consider to be extremely significant, especially with the two countries, this reciprocal access agreement that will give us a greater capability in terms of not only security, but also in terms of disaster preparedness and alleviation, adjustment," Marcos added.

The President brought the agreements up after talking about the official security aid, which was one of the things that happened when Kishida visited Manila in November of last year.

Along with that, Kishida said that Japan would steadily provide a coastal radar system through OSA and would like to strengthen cooperation in building up maritime safety ability based on the Memorandum of Cooperation between the two countries' coast guards.

The two leaders also talked about different problems in their countries and regions and promised to keep working together.

The two leaders met with each other on Sunday, 17 December at the Prime Minister's Office. After the meeting, the two leaders saw the Coast Guard and Environment ministries trade papers on two deals.