PHL’s military pact with Japan likely to be ratified next week — Escudero

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINE Senate is likely to approve and ratify Manila’s Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Tokyo next week even as lawmakers try to reconcile their respective budget versions, according to the Senate president.

At news briefing on Thursday, Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero said the Senate can do away with the three-day rule in approving measures since the pact is a treaty.

“The RAA has been sponsored (before the floor) by Senator Maria Imelda R. Marcos and we are expecting to approve it on second reading next week… and if we really need to, we can approve it on final reading on the same day or the next day,” he said in Filipino.

“This is a treaty ratification, and you can argue that you do not treat this as passing a law, but so that there won’t be any issues, we usually treat these like how we pass bills.”

The Senate president his colleagues cannot propose amendments to treaties.

Congress is in the middle of harmonizing their versions of the P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025, in time for their self-imposed Dec. 9 target. Senate Finance Committee Chairperson Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares earlier said lawmakers aim to submit the budget to the Palace by Dec. 19 for the President’s signature.

The Senate’s final version of the national budget restored a previously slashed P10-billion funding from the P50-billion allocation for the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Plan in 2025. The Department of National Defense will also get a P266.28-billion budget amid the continuing tensions in the South China Sea.

Both countries signed the deal in July to ease the entry of military equipment and troops for combat training from Japan. Mr. Escudero earlier said the Senate aims to ratify the RAA before the year ends.

The agreement is the first of its kind to be signed by Japan in Asia and coincides with increased Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s expansive claims conflict with those of several Southeast Asian nations.

A United Nations-backed tribunal based in the Hague in 2016 voided China’s expansive claims in the sea for being illegal. Beijing has ignored the ruling.

The Philippines has a visiting forces agreement with the US and Australia. Tokyo, which hosts the biggest concentration of US forces abroad, has a similar deal with Australia and Britain, and is negotiating another with France.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa has said her country’s partnership with Manila is not targeted against any country but aims to boost efforts towards peace and stability in the region.

P611-M SECURITY ASSISTANCE
Meanwhile, Manila and Tokyo on Thursday finalized Tokyo’s official security assistance (OSA) worth about P611 million in radar systems, inflatable boats and other maritime equipment to boost Manila’s capacity to patrol its waters, according to the Japanese Embassy in Manila.

In a statement, the embassy said Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo on Thursday signed and exchanged diplomatic notes on the security assistance, which comes amid rising tensions with China in the South China Sea.

“It will support the Department of National Defense, and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) efforts in securing the Philippines and improving the country’s capabilities to deter threats to peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

In separate statement, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines said the Philippine Air Force would receive an Air Surveillance Radar System to improve the surveillance capabilities of the Philippines.

The aid is in the form of OSA, which provides equipment and supplies to the armed forces of the recipient country, according to the embassy.

“OSA aims to strengthen our security cooperation with the recipient countries, to create a desirable security environment for Japan, and to contribute to maintaining and strengthening international peace and security,” it said.

Japan, which last year announced its biggest military build-up since World War II in a step away from its post-war pacifism, does not have any claims to the South China Sea, but has a separate maritime dispute with China in the East China Sea, where they have repeatedly faced off.

It has supported the Philippines’ position in the South China Sea and has expressed serious concern over China’s actions.

“The assistance reflects the two countries’ shared commitment to maritime stability and regional peace,” the DFA said.