News Roundup 08 July 2024
Jul 08, 2024 • 4 min Read
Why the Philippine-Japan defense pact matters | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — More than 70 years after Japan’s invasion and occupation of the Philippines during World War II, the countries on Monday signed a defense pact that allows them to deploy troops on each other’s soil.
The agreement was finalized during high-level defense talks in Manila and comes as China increases military and diplomatic pressure in the Asia-Pacific region.
Legal framework
The Reciprocal Access Agreement, or RAA, provides the legal framework for the deployment of Japanese troops and equipment in the Philippines, and vice versa.
It took more than seven months to negotiate and will take effect after ratification by lawmakers in both countries.
Both countries have longstanding maritime territorial disputes with China and this agreement allows for increased cooperation between their militaries in combat training as well as disaster response.
That would include live-fire exercises and joint patrols, said Aries Arugay, visiting senior fellow at the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
Japan, which hosts 54,000 US military personnel, has signed similar reciprocal access agreements with Britain and Australia, but this is its first in Asia.
The Philippines has equivalent pacts with the United States and Australia and plans to pursue one with France.
Security ‘latticework’
The Philippines and Japan are longtime allies of the United States, which has been strengthening an arc of alliances in the region to deter China — infuriating leaders in Beijing.
Monday’s agreement was “another layer in the latticework of #IndoPacific security partnerships,” US ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, said on social media platform X.
“The historic reciprocal access agreement… not only boosts their cooperation and capabilities, but also reinforces our collective deterrence and commitment to a free and open #IndoPacific.”
The Philippines, which has a mutual defense treaty with the United States, has been seeking to boost security ties with other countries in Asia and Europe.
Full Story at: Why the Philippine-Japan defense pact matters | Philstar.com
China slams Philippines-Japan defense pact | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Beijing on Monday protested as the Philippines and Japan signed a defense pact seen to be a countermove against China’s aggressive posturing in the region.
Lin Jian, the foreign ministry spokesman called it as “small circles” that would “encourage a new Cold War and provoke confrontation.”
The Reciprocal Access Agreement, that representatives of Japan and the Philippines signed on Monday, allows the deployment of troops on each other’s territory. The move is seen to boost ties between the two traditional military allies of the United States in the face of China’s growing assertiveness.
The historic pact was finalized in Manila, where Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa are holding talks with their Philippine counterparts Gilberto Teodoro and Enrique Manalo. — based on reports from Agence France Presse
Story at: China slams Philippines-Japan defense pact | Philstar.com
Binay on filing ethics complaint vs Cayetano: I need to protect my kids | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Nancy Binay on Monday turned emotional when she explained the reason why she filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.
“I am a parent, so I need to protect my children, and I don’t want them to go back to school where they will be told that their mother has gone crazy just because Sen. Cayetano accused me of being one,” Binay said in Filipino in a press conference.
Binay’s eyes welled, and her voice broke. She said this is not just about her being a senator, but also about her being a mother.
“I feel like crying because I know what children are going through, my children and my nieces and nephews, that time, and I will not let that happen again,” she explained in Filipino.
“Maybe it’s hard to explain it if you have yet to experience being a parent. Because if you’re a parent, it would be more painful if your child gets hurt. That’s what happened to us during that time,” she added.
Binay earlier admitted to thinking that Cayetano is only using the construction of the new Senate building as an issue to fuel the Makati-Taguig feud, just like what he did in 2015.
Cayetano was among the central figures in the Senate’s probe into the Makati City Hall Parking Building in 2015, a project of Binay’s father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay. Cayeteno claimed that the building was overpriced.
Full Story at: Binay on filing ethics complaint vs Cayetano: I need to protect my kids (inquirer.net)
P10 million reward offered for the arrest of fugitive Apollo Quiboloy | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — A P10 million reward awaits anyone who will step forward and provide credible information that would lead to the arrest of fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said in a press conference on Monday.
Abalos also announced a P1 million reward each for information leading to the arrest of Quiboloy’s subordinates Cresente Canada, Paulene Canada, Ingrid Canada, Sylvia Camañes, and Jackielyn Roy.
“We have friends who want to help find them and have offered a reward of P10 million for any information leading to the arrest of Pastor Quiboloy and P1 million each for others,” Abalos said, speaking partly in Filipino.
Full Story at: P10 million reward offered for the arrest of Apollo Quiboloy (inquirer.net)
