MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday assured Japan that he does not expect “any serious objections” to the ratification of the Philippines’ Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Japan, after an envoy brought up the pending agreements on the sidelines of a meeting in Malacañang.

Marcos Jr. gave the statement after Matsuda Kenichi, charges d’affaires of the Embassy of Japan, approached him after his meeting with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the Palace.

“I don’t know [of] any serious objections,” Marcos Jr. told the diplomat.

National democratic activist organizations like Bagong Alyansang Makabayan have opposed the deal, saying in November 2023 that positioning Japanese troops and equipment in the Philippines to counter China "might actually do the opposite — justify even more military actions from China." 

The Makabayan bloc at the House has also voiced opposition to the agreement, saying "endangers our population [in exchange for] scraps of their military hardware." 

But the ratification of treaties only needs concurrence from the Senate, and not the House, where Marcos Jr. also enjoys majority support.

“It’s just that when the budget is in deliberation, everything has to stop because otherwise, we will be [in] 2025 with no budget. It will be very difficult if that happens,” Marcos Jr. told Matsuda on Wednesday.

“They will prioritize the budget and then take up all the other business afterwards,” he  added.

The Philippines has been ramping up its engagements with security partners, including Japan, in the face of tension with China over the West Philippine Sea.

Apart from the RAA, Manila is working on defense agreements with Paris and with Berlin.

READ: Why the Philippine-Japan defense pact matters

JAPANESE TROOPS TO GET ACCESS TO PHILIPPINE FACILITIES

In July, the Philippines and Japan signed the RAA, a military agreement that will allow troops from both countries to operate and train on each other’s territory.

Last month, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said that the military access deal, which will provide a legal framework to the presence of Filipino and Japanese troops’ in both countries, would soon be submitted to the Senate.

PH-Japan RAA not yet submitted to Senate for ratification: Escudero

The deal is expected to bolster the military cooperation between the two countries as China continues to forcibly claim nearly the entire South China Sea, a strategic waterway where trillions-worth of goods pass through annually.

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