The Philippines and Japan have completed the final step for their landmark Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) to enter into force, a move seen as a significant boost to their defense cooperation amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and broader Indo-Pacific region.
On August 12, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro and Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya exchanged diplomatic notes in Manila, formalizing the legal and administrative framework for visiting forces from either country.
The agreement, signed on July 8, 2024, will take effect on September 11, 2025 — exactly 30 days after Monday’s exchange of notes.
Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. witnessed the event.
The RAA, also known as a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), sets procedures for the entry, departure, and activities of each country’s military personnel, vessels, aircraft, and equipment while visiting the other’s territory. It covers joint training, disaster relief operations, and other mutually agreed defense activities, enabling greater interoperability between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).
“The Japan-Philippines RAA is expected that the Japan-Philippines RAA will facilitate the conduct of cooperative activities, such as joint exercises and disaster relief between Japan and the Philippines, and improve interoperability between the forces of the two countries,” the Embassy of Japan said in a statement on the exchange of notes.
“As the security environment in the region becomes increasingly severe, the entry into force of the Agreement with the Philippines, a strategic partner located at a strategic juncture on the sea lanes and sharing fundamental values and principles, will further promote security and defense cooperation between the two countries, and firmly support peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” it added.
The RAA underwent legislative approvals in both countries, with the Philippine Senate concurring in its ratification in December 2024 and Japan’s House of Councillors giving its nod in June 2025.
While the JSDF has previously joined humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions in the Philippines, the RAA opens the door for more complex defense engagements — from expanded joint exercises to coordinated responses to regional contingencies.
Analysts see the pact as part of a broader network of security arrangements the Philippines is building with like-minded partners such as the United States and Australia, aimed at countering Beijing’s increasingly aggressive posture in the West Philippine Sea and surrounding waters.
