JUNE 5 (Reuters) — The Philippines and Japan are to start talks on allowing Japanese military aircraft and naval vessels to use bases in the Philippines for refueling and picking up supplies, enabling them to extend their patrol range deep into the South China Sea, Philippine President Benigno Aquino said on Friday (June 5).
The agreement would be a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which would clear the way for the Japanese military to use Philippines’ bases on a rotational basis, similar to the way the U.S. does now.
“The Philippines does welcome this development, and we will be initiating all of the diplomatic requirements to come up with the Visiting Forces Agreement,” Aquino said at a press briefing in Tokyo at the end of a four-day state visit to Japan.
“An agreement, even foreign maritime concerns, that only exists on paper will not be effective when there comes a time that you would need to be in coordination and in cooperation or in joint operation with your strategic partners,” Aquino said.
An ability to refuel close to the South China Sea would allow Japan’s Self Defense Forces to keep their aircraft on patrol longer and cover a greater distance.
The decision to start talks on a VFA was not included in a joint statement on Thursday after Aquino met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
On Thursday, Aquino and Abe agreed to expand joint training and exercises between their militaries and to co-operate in building up the Philippines Coast Guard.
Aquino’s trip comes as the two countries deepen their security ties. Unable to match the scale of the Chinese fleet, Manila is looking for allies in its territorial spat with China. Tokyo is concerned that Chinese land reclamation projects in the South China Sea will expand Beijing’s influence in a region through which about $5 trillion of sea-borne trade passes annually, much of it heading to and from Japan.
“This state visit has been a major opportunity to deepen the friendship between our nations. The spectrum of cooperation between Japan and the Philippines is vast, and I am proud to announce that we have made significant strides in nearly all aspects of our relations,” Aquino said during a joint news conference with Abe.
China has become increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, building artificial islands in areas over which the Philippines and other countries have rival claims.
“Regarding the South China Sea issue, we strongly condemn the big scale construction efforts (by China), and again acknowledged our disagreement towards unilateral attempts to change the status quo,” Abe said.
Japan, also embroiled in a dispute with China over a group of East China Sea islets, last week reached a similar deal with Malaysia. In May, held its first naval exercises with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, through which much of Japan’s ship-borne trade passes. The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.
Under Abe’s leadership, Japan last year eased its restrictions on arms exports.
Tokyo already has agreements on military equipment and technology transfers with the United States, Britain, Australia and France and a similar pact with Manila is needed to allow it to export to the Philippines.
The Philippines has already handed the Tokyo government a list of Japanese military equipment it wants to acquire such as P-3C maritime surveillance aircraft, a senior Philippine naval officer has said.
Japanese Defence minister Gen Nakatani has repeatedly said the situation in the South China Sea is a challenge to Japan’s security and that Tokyo needs to consider how to respond.
Bills being debated in Japan’s parliament would ease the pacifist constitution’s constraints on the military’s overseas activities, raising the possibility that Tokyo could get dragged into action in the South China Sea in support of U.S. forces.
On the economic front, Japan on Thursday agreed to cooperate with the Philippines on transport infrastructure development projects in and around Manila, including the 300-billion-yen ($2.4 billion) North-South Commuter Railway project.
Before the meeting with Abe, Aquino attended a signing ceremony on a deal to provide patrol ships to the Philippines Coast Guard.
Aquino, on the fourth and the last day of his Japan visit, also met Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at a hotel in downtown Tokyo.