New Trends in Japanese Defense: May Sign Mutual Access Agreements with France and the Philippines France | Japan | Trends
According to a recent report by Kyodo News Agency, Japan may sign a reciprocal access agreement with France and the Philippines to facilitate military exchanges.
The Mutual Access Agreement aims to facilitate joint exercises and logistical cooperation between the two countries' troops, and will establish a legal framework to simplify the extraterritorial legal issues involved in the entry of troops into each other's country.
Japan borrows the Mutual Access Agreement
recruit people to form a faction
It is understood that Japan signed reciprocal access agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom in January 2022 and January 2023, respectively. On August 13th, the Japan Australia Mutual Access Agreement officially came into effect.
Military observer Shao Yongling believes that Japan is attempting to evade legal risks through the Mutual Access Agreement in order to introduce foreign powers to support it. This exposes Japan's ambition to continuously seek military expansion.
Shao Yongling:
Australia, the United Kingdom, and France all have strong naval capabilities, and Japan has signed reciprocal access agreements with these countries in order to leverage their power to compete with regional powers in the Sea of Japan, East China Sea, South China Sea, and other regions.
In recent years, Japan, the United Kingdom, and France have held multiple joint naval exercises in the Asia Pacific region. However, due to the lack of a reciprocal access agreement, some specific details may not be easily resolved, such as carrying weapons into the country and providing logistical support.
In addition, this also reflects Japan's ambition not to be satisfied with exerting its political and military influence in Northeast Asia.
France and the Philippines have different thoughts
According to reports, the Japan Air Self Defense Force and the French Air Force held their first joint exercise in July this year. At present, France has a positive attitude towards signing the Mutual Access Agreement with Japan. The Philippines also intends to strengthen military cooperation with countries such as Japan and the United States due to actions such as opening more military bases to the United States.
Shao Yongling pointed out that France and the Philippines have their own plans to sign a reciprocal access agreement with Japan.
Shao Yongling:
France has its own interests and demands in the Indo Pacific region. If France conducts joint military exercises and maritime patrols in the region, it needs a partner. Currently, Japan is the most proactive one.
The Philippines wants to introduce extraterritorial forces to strengthen its position in the South China Sea. In addition to relying on the United States, the Philippines also wants to invite its allies such as Japan and Australia to the South China Sea to cheer for itself.
Japan and the Philippines have close cooperation in security, and Japan will also visit Philippine ports to provide some assistance to the Philippines' maritime patrol forces.
Behind the Agreement: The United States "weaves" an alliance network
According to reports, the Japanese Ministry of Defense recently released the 2023 version of the Defense White Paper, emphasizing that the Japan US alliance is an important foundation for achieving a "free and open Indo Pacific region". It is also stated that in order to carry out "multi angle and multi-level defense cooperation", agreements such as the Mutual Access Agreement will be further improved.
Shao Yongling pointed out that Japan actively plans to build a "small circle" of defense, which is naturally fueled by the United States.
Shao Yongling:
I think the United States is the biggest driver behind the scenes.
In recent years, the United States has placed special emphasis on establishing special relationships among its allies. For example, the United States hopes that Japan and South Korea can form an alliance, and the United States is still pushing Japan to approach Australia and NATO.
Such an alliance network can leverage each other, for example, if there is an issue in Europe, countries in the Asian direction such as Japan can contribute. If there is an issue in the Indo Pacific region, the United States may also need its European allies to participate, while the core position of the United States ensures that the entire alliance serves its hegemony.