Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, greets Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., prior to their bilateral meeting at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, on the sidelines of the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation. Top defense and foreign affairs officials of Japan and the Philippines will meet in Manila July 2024, to strengthen strategic ties and discuss regional concerns, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday June 28, 2024 at a time of escalating alarm over China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP, File)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Japan and the Philippines signed a key defense pact Monday allowing the deployment of Japanese forces for joint military exercises, including live-fire drills, to the Southeast Asian nation that came under brutal Japanese occupation in World War II but is now building an alliance with Tokyo as they face an increasingly assertive China.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement, similarly allows Filipino forces to enter Japan for joint combat training, was signed by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in a Manila ceremony witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It would take effect after ratification by the countries’ legislatures, Philippine and Japanese officials said.
Kamikawa and Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara are in Manila to hold talks with their Philippine counterparts on ways to further deepen relations, the Philippine government said in a statement.
The defense pact with the Philippines is the first to be forged by Japan in Asia. Japan signed similar accords with Australia in 2022 and with Britain last year.
Under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the Japanese government has taken steps to boost its security and defensive firepower, including a counterstrike capability that breaks from Japan’s postwar principle of focusing only on self-defense, amid threats from North Korea and China’s growing assertiveness. It’s doubling defense spending in a five-year period to 2027 in a move to bolster its military power and make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China.
Many of Japan’s Asian neighbors, including the Philippines, came under Japanese aggression until its defeat in World War II and Japan’s efforts to bolster its military role and spending could be a sensitive issue. Japan and the Philippines, however, have steadily deepened defense and security ties.
READ: Marcos’ Japan trip nets P14.5B in fresh investment pledges
Kishida’s moves dovetail with Marcos’ effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend Manila’s territorial interests in the South China Sea. The busy sea passage is a key global trade route which has been claimed virtually in its entirety by China but also contested in part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
The United States has also been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan, and reassure its Asian allies. Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the U.S. and their leaders held three-way talks in April at the White House, where President Biden renewed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to defend Japan and the Philippines.
Japan has had a longstanding territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea. Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships, meanwhile, have been involved in a series of tense confrontations in the South China Sea since last year.
In the worst confrontation so far, Chinese coast guard personnel armed with knives, spears and an axe aboard motorboats repeatedly rammed and destroyed two Philippine navy supply vessels on June 17 in a chaotic faceoff in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal that injured several Filipino sailors. Chinese coast guard personnel seized seven navy rifles.
The Philippines strongly protested the Chinese coast guard’s actions and demanded $1 million for the damage and the return of the rifles. China accused the Philippines of instigating the violence, saying the Filipino sailors strayed into what it called Chinese territorial waters despite warnings.
Japan and the United States were among the first to express alarm over the Chinese actions and call on Beijing to abide by international laws. Washington renewed its warning that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
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FAQs
The Japan-Philippines RAA is an agreement which establishes procedures for the cooperative activities that are conducted by forces of Japan and the Philippines while the force of one country is visiting the other country and defines a legal status of the visiting force.
What is the reparations agreement between Japan and the Philippines? ›
Then in 1956, Japan and the Philippines signed a Reparations Agreement, in accordance with Article 14 (a) 1 of the Peace Treaty. Under that Agreement, Japan provided the Philippines with services and goods valued at the equivalent of 550 million dollars.
What did Japan do to the Philippines? ›
Ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces successfully invaded the Philippines. Those Americans and Filipinos who did not retreat endured three years of Japanese rule, murder, torture, and hard labor.
What is the relationship between the Philippines and Japan? ›
Japan has been the Philippines' biggest source of bilateral Official Development Assistance since 2001, with its ODA loans to the Philippines accounting for 72 percent of the Philippines' total bilateral loan portfolio as of 2021.
What was the Treaty signed with Japan? ›
The San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed by 48 nations on September 8, 1951, officially ended Japan's position as an imperial power, provided compensation to those who had suffered in Japan during the Second World War, and terminated the Allied post-war occupation of Japan.
What is the agreement between the U.S. and the Philippines? ›
The 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty provides a strong foundation for our robust security partnership. Vibrant people-to-people ties and strong economic cooperation provide meaningful ways to engage on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues.
Is Japan still paying reparations? ›
Japan's war reparations began to be paid to Burma and the Philippines in 1956 and ended in 1976. Approximately 65 years have passed since the reparation payment began.
Did Japan apologize to the Philippines? ›
Japan has reiterated its apologies for the suffering inflicted on Filipino “comfort women” during World War II. More than 1,000 women were abducted and coerced into sexual slavery by military personnel during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines from 1942 to 1945. Today, only 18 survivors remain alive.
Did Japan ever pay reparations to China? ›
China refused war reparations from Japan in the 1972 Joint Communiqué. Japan gave official development assistance (ODA), amounting to 3 trillion yen (US$30 billion). According to estimates, Japan accounts for more than 60 percent of China's ODA received.
What are the effects of Japanese colonization in the Philippines? ›
IB History Tutor Summary: The Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945 severely affected Filipino society, causing economic hardship, societal changes, and great suffering. The country's resources were exploited for the war, leading to food shortages and poverty.
U.S. Army National Guard and Filipino soldiers shown at the outset of the Bataan Death March. Allied forces were forced to surrender to the Japanese on April 9, 1942, the largest surrender in U.S. history. Photo by U.S. Army.
How did the Japanese mistreat American and Filipino prisoners after they surrendered? ›
During the march, prisoners received little food or water, and many died. They were subjected to severe physical abuse, including beatings and torture. On the march, the "sun treatment" was a common form of torture. Prisoners were forced to sit in sweltering direct sunlight without helmets or other head coverings.
What are the reparations for Japanese war in the Philippines? ›
"Just to put historical context to this issue (comfort women), Japan paid an equivalent of 8 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in 1956 to the Philippines in cash and goods as reparations, and another 3.5 percent of GDP in concessional loans," he said.
How do Filipinos view Japan? ›
Filipino adults see many places asked about in our survey favorably. About eight-in-ten (79%) hold a favorable view of Japan, including 43% who see it very favorably.
Who liberated the Philippines from the Japanese? ›
While remaining loyal to the United States, many Filipinos hoped and believed that liberation from the Japanese would bring them freedom and their already-promised independence. The Australian government offered General MacArthur the use of the First Corps of the Australian Army for the Liberation of the Philippines.
How much is the salary of a Filipino caregiver in Japan? ›
Caregivers typically get JPY 120,000 to JPY 185,000 monthly, depending on your qualifications, company, and location. Caregivers with Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) receive the lowest as they usually have little experience and no certificates. The salary can differ each month.
What is an agreement signed between two countries? ›
Under international law, a treaty is any legally binding agreement between states (countries). A treaty can be called a Convention, a Protocol, a Pact, an Accord, etc.; it is the content of the agreement, not its name, which makes it a treaty.
What is the Tokyo agreement? ›
in a series of documente signed at Tokyo the sixth of May 1941. included: 1) A treaty of commerce and navigation relative to French Indo-China. 2) An appended protocol. 3) An agreement relating to the customs system, commercial exchange, and terms of settlement between Indo-China and Japan.
