TOKYO, Japan 鈥� President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio want the reciprocal access agreement (RAA) done as soon as possible.
In a media interview on Monday, Marcos said that he and Kishida were in agreement on allowing the armed forces of Tokyo and Manila to enter each other鈥檚 territory legally.
鈥淚 think both the Prime Minister and I agree ASAP (as soon as possible). Lahat ito (All of this) as soon as possible, yesterday, if not, sooner,鈥� said Marcos.
When asked if China鈥檚 aggressive tactics in the West Philippine Sea contributed to the RAA, Marcos said that it had been in the 鈥渋n the works way before that.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 been in the works way before that. Of course, the incidents in the past few couple of months have certainly sharpened our focus when it comes to that, but again, that鈥檚 one of the things that I鈥檓 looking forward to that will have鈥� a very big multiplier effect on our capabilities,鈥� said Marcos.
Marcos reiterated that such agreements are not just being explored with Japan but with other countries as well. However, he did not further specify which countries these were.
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