MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Senate on Monday, December 16, ratified a reciprocal access agreement (RAA) with Japan that would allow their militaries to deploy on each other’s soil as both countries worry about China’s increasingly assertive stance in the region.

The RAA, the first of its kind that Japan has signed in Asia, will ease the entry of equipment and troops for combat training and disaster response, smoothing military cooperation between Manila and Tokyo.

All 19 senators present on Monday’s session voted to ratify the deal, with Japanese ambassador Kazuya Endo in attendance at the legislative hall in Manila.

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“The … treaty is deemed ratified,” Senate President Francis Escudero said.

The agreement was signed by the defense and foreign ministers of both nations in July, but the deal needed parliament’s approval to enter into force.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Both the Philippines and Japan, two of the United States’ closest Asian allies, have taken a strong line against what they see as an increasingly assertive China in the East and South China Seas, and voicing concern over tension across the Taiwan Strait.

China claims much of the South China Sea, a conduit for the bulk of northeast Asia’s trade with the rest of the world in which Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.

Japan has a separate maritime dispute with China in the East China Sea, where the neighbors have repeatedly faced off.

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The Philippines has a Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States and Australia.

Tokyo, which hosts the biggest concentration of US forces abroad, has similar RAA deals with Australia and Britain, and is negotiating another with France. – Rappler.com