Japan has said that its upgraded security ties with the Philippines, particularly its decision to start talks on a possible Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), is not directed to any country.
While Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida already noted that the international order is already under serious threat, Japanese Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Maki Kobayashi made it clear that the agreement only aims at increasing the Philippines' "resilience" and "capacity" as it is "situated in a very important sea lane."
"It's not destinated [sic] to specific country," Kobayashi said in a roundtable discussion with Philippine reporters on Saturday.
"So, we think, it's important to secure the capacity," she added.
It is still early to discuss what the agreement would entail, Kobayashi said, but that would surely facilitate both troops' easy access to each other's places.
There might also be joint military exercises between Japanese and Philippine troops, but both sides still need to have a "political meeting to talk about cooperation, to talk about situations...exchange analysis," she added.
The decision to start negotiations on an eventual RAA built on Marcos and Kishida's earlier agreement to have "more beneficial defense cooperation," Kobayashi said.
"We have been already working and exchanging with political military discussions, major and major discussions. And in order to build our resilience together, we thought that it's going to be more important to have further cooperation visiting each other, more training each other," she said.
"And, and that's easier, to have RAA [is to] have more frequent cooperation together," she added.
RAA is a defense and security agreement between Japan and a partner country to share military training and operations. It will also create a framework for both sides to move their troops whenever required as well as an avenue for goods to be imported and exported from one country to the other through following the movement of visiting military forces.
In his historic speech before a joint session of the Philippine Congress on Saturday, Kishida said "the international community is currently at a historic turning point, and the international order based on the rule of law that we have taken for granted is under serious threat."
"The international community is also facing complex and interrelated challenges such as climate change and infectious diseases. Under these circumstances, we cannot afford to have the world be divided based on ideologies and values," Kishida added.