Marcos ready to implement RAA with Japan

President Marcos is looking forward to the immediate implementation of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and Japan that is expected to bolster the security and defense of both countries.

- HELEN FLORES

The President shared the Senate's ratification of the RAA on Dec. 16 with Japan's National Security Adviser Akiba Takeo, who paid a courtesy call at Malacañang on Thursday.

"I'm also very happy to be able to note that the Reciprocal Access Agreement has already been ratified by our Senate. And as soon as we are all ready, we can operationalize the agreement that we have come through between Japan and the Philippines," Marcos said.

Signed in July, the RAA will facilitate the procedures and set guidelines when Philippine forces visit Japan for training and joint exercises, and vice versa.

It was developed to improve the interoperability between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Self-Defense Forces of Japan for more extensive practical military cooperation and exercises and boost the two nations' security and defense capabilities.