Philippine delegates from the defense and military sectors are flying to Japan next week as part of ongoing negotiations for a visiting forces agreement between the two countries, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said.

Earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced during his working visit in Manila that the Philippines and Japan have started negotiating on the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), a deal likened to the PH-United States Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which will facilitate the procedures and set guidelines when Philippine forces visit Japan for training and joint exercises, and vice versa.

"We are now negotiating the Reciprocal Access Agreement. Our team will go there, I believe next week, and we hope that we can get a draft soon," Teodoro said on Friday, Nov. 24.

Once the Philippines and Japan agree on the draft of the RAA, it will be submitted to the Philippine Senate and the National Diet, Japan's national legislature, for ratification.

If completed, the Philippines will become the first ASEAN country to establish a visiting forces agreement with Japan.

Meanwhile, Teodoro said the discussion for Japan's Official Security Assistance (OSA) grant to the Philippines is also being finalized.

Japan said it will provide a P235.5 million grant to the Philippines which will enable the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to acquire radar systems.

The Philippines becomes the first recipient of the newly launched OSA after the Japanese grant was first announced in December last year.

"Well we are the first recipient of the OSA and the Philippine Navy is now finalizing the details of this with the Japanese government," Teodoro said.

The grant will be used to acquire radars for enhanced coastal defense capabilities of the Philippine Navy.

Relatedly, Teodoro met with Japan’s State Minister of Defense Miyazawa Hiroyuki during the 10th ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus in Jakarta, Indonesia last week where they emphasized the importance of pursuing cooperation under the auspices of the ADMM-Plus, which is the highest defense consultative and cooperative mechanism between ASEAN and eight of its Dialogue Partners.

"The two officials also recognized the need to continue working together towards maintaining a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific region in accordance with international law. They also condemned any action that undermines the region’s stability or any country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Secretary Teodoro also expressed appreciation for Japan’s Vientiane Vision 2.0 which ensures capacity-building assistance to defense establishments of ASEAN Member States," DND spokesperson Director Arsenio Andolong said.

On sidelines of the ADMM-Plus, Teodoro also held meetings with Vietnam’s Minister of National Defense, General Phan Van Giang; Republic of Korea (ROK) Vice Minister of National Defense Kim Seon-ho; and Singapore’s Minister of Defense, Dr. Ng Eng Hen, to discuss potential collaboration including in areas of military modernization, increased training and education and personnel exchanges, counter-terrorism, and violent extremism.