Fisherfolks group rejects VFA-like pact between PH-Japan, warns putting PH in further tension with China in WPS

Militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) voiced strong opposition on Friday against the proposed defense pact between Japan and the Philippines. 

Such a military agreement similar to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States is set to be signed, bearing the name ‘Reciprocal Access Agreement’ (RAA).

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japan Prime Minister Kishida Kumio are scheduled to discuss RAA on November 3 and 4. If established, both nations would gain the ability to streamline troop and equipment deployment for joint military exercises, following discussions initiated in April 2022 between their foreign and defense ministers.

It was during the incident on October 22, where a Philippine supply ship collided with a Chinese Coast Guard vessel in the WPS, that has prompted discussions between Japan and the Philippines to bolster military pacts.

“Instead of peaceful and diplomatic solutions, the Philippine government always resorts to subservient foreign policies and unequal defence agreements that do nothing to de-escalate the tensions in our territory,” said Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson.

PAMALAKAYA noted that the foreign military interventions in the country led by China, the United States, and now Japan as supported by the Marcos Jr. administration in the formulation of subservient foreign policies and unequal defense pacts has only put the Philippines in the between territorial tensions.

Accordingly, Japan aims to enhance the maritime surveillance capabilities of the Philippines by supplying coastal radar systems, patrol vessels, and potential transfer of aircraft and other equipment, strengthening their partnership.

It must be noted that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have since made “strategic partnerships and cooperation” since February this year fact for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations for the Japanese military in the Philippines. 

Eight months after, in October, defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. already said that a joint military pact between the Philippines and Japan was underway.

PAMALAKAYA slammed the Marcos Jr. administration following the lack of assertiveness in upholding the victoried international laws, including the 2016 arbitral ruling which provides mechanisms to safeguard the country’s sovereign rights against China.

“We caution the Marcos administration against engaging in military alliances with foreign superpowers, as this will not alleviate the tensions in the West Philippine Sea. Instead, it could further exacerbate China’s aggressive occupation in our territorial waters, ultimately impacting the Filipino fisherfolk caught between military powers,” warned Hicap.