Japan hopes security, defense cooperation with Philippines will ''advance rapidly this year''
By Robina Asido
Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa expressed hope that the security and defense cooperation between Philippine and Japan will "advance rapidly this year" as he welcomed the recent statement of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. who hopes for the signing of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) within the first quarter of the year.
"We think this is a welcome message. It is the intention of the Prime Minister and the Japanese government to do so as soon as possible. At the political level, both countries have similar feelings. The current situation is that we are working to resolve the legal issues and are going to conclude negotiations," Koshikawa said in an interview with reporters on Wednesday night.
"We would like to conclude this between our two countries as soon as possible. We would like to get it approved by Congresses and put them into effect. I don't know when it will happen because it's a negotiation, but we would like to have it as soon as possible," he added.
Koshikawa noted that the signing of the RAA may be one of the "most symbolic" events that may happen between the Philippines and Japan this year.
"I hope that the security and defense fields will advance rapidly this year. The most symbolic one may be RAA," he said.
The Japanese Ambassador also reiterated Japan's commitment to provide coastal warning radars under the official security assistance for the Philippines.
"Japan has also decided to provide coastal warning radar for OSA (Official Security Assistance), which Japan introduced for the first time after the war. This (OSA) will continue also in the future. I believe that cooperation will progress in this direction, and I would like to see it progress in this direction," he said.
The OSA of Japan to the Philippines was also discussed during the meeting between the Department of National Defense and the delegates from the Japan government in Quezon City on Thursday.
DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said Teodoro received the delegates from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), headed by Director-General Tanaka Hiroo, Infrastructure Management Department of JICA who was also joined by Koshikawa and other officials from the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines.
"The meeting was intended to determine how the Japanese Government, through the Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Official Security Assistance (OSA), could further contribute to enhancing the Philippines’ maritime domain awareness capabilities amid the evolving security challenges in the region," he said.
"Highlighting the importance of sustaining regional peace and stability, Secretary Teodoro reaffirmed the DND and AFP’s full commitment to working with JICA in identifying maritime security cooperative projects while adopting a holistic approach to address traditional and non-traditional security concerns for long-term economic development," he added.
Andolong said "Teodoro also encouraged the JICA delegation to engage with relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), among others, and Local Government Units (LGUs) to further capacitate not just the capability requirements of the Philippine Navy (PN), but also maritime law enforcement agencies and Filipino fisherfolks."
"The meeting concluded with possible cooperation on information sharing, hardware and software support, and technical assistance," he said. DMS
