AP, Tokyo :
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said Friday he wants to start talks to allow Japanese troops into his Southeast Asian country as it builds up its military at a time of tense territorial disputes with China.
A visiting forces agreement would allow for refueling and other logistic and legal needs for Japanese troops, Aquino told a news conference at the end of his four-day visit to Tokyo. The Philippines has similar deals with the U.S. and Australia.
The Philippines and Japan on Thursday signed a strategic partnership agreement and said they would start talks on selling Japanese military hardware and exercises and operations between their militaries.
However, the spokesman for the prime minister’s office, Kenko Sone, said he did not know immediately whether Japan was also starting talks on a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to expand Japan’s military role abroad, and already has partnered with a number of countries, including Australia, to complement Tokyo’s cornerstone alliance with the U.S.
Abe’s Cabinet last year adopted a new interpretation of Japan’s war-renouncing constitution, allowing its troops to operate outside Japan.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani has said that the new law, if passed, could allow Japanese military to provide escorts and surveillance in the South China Sea, where the Philippines and the U.S. have challenged China’s territorial claims.
Aquino said the two leaders touched on a possibility of starting talks toward forging a visiting forces agreement, and that the Philippines is ready to discuss further details. He said strategic partners need such an arrangement in case “there comes a time that you would need to be in coordination.”
Japan hosts American troops under its bilateral security treaty but has no visiting forces agreement with other nations, except in the case of U.N.-led peacekeeping operations.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said Friday he wants to start talks to allow Japanese troops into his Southeast Asian country as it builds up its military at a time of tense territorial disputes with China.
A visiting forces agreement would allow for refueling and other logistic and legal needs for Japanese troops, Aquino told a news conference at the end of his four-day visit to Tokyo. The Philippines has similar deals with the U.S. and Australia.
The Philippines and Japan on Thursday signed a strategic partnership agreement and said they would start talks on selling Japanese military hardware and exercises and operations between their militaries.
However, the spokesman for the prime minister’s office, Kenko Sone, said he did not know immediately whether Japan was also starting talks on a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to expand Japan’s military role abroad, and already has partnered with a number of countries, including Australia, to complement Tokyo’s cornerstone alliance with the U.S.
Abe’s Cabinet last year adopted a new interpretation of Japan’s war-renouncing constitution, allowing its troops to operate outside Japan.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani has said that the new law, if passed, could allow Japanese military to provide escorts and surveillance in the South China Sea, where the Philippines and the U.S. have challenged China’s territorial claims.
Aquino said the two leaders touched on a possibility of starting talks toward forging a visiting forces agreement, and that the Philippines is ready to discuss further details. He said strategic partners need such an arrangement in case “there comes a time that you would need to be in coordination.”
Japan hosts American troops under its bilateral security treaty but has no visiting forces agreement with other nations, except in the case of U.N.-led peacekeeping operations.
