A YouTube video falsely claimed in its headline that the Philippine government has allowed the Japanese military to occupy its military bases. The Philippines and Japan are currently negotiating the terms for a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), not a basing arrangement.
“China Panic ! Philippines Permits the Japan Military to Occupy its Military Base (Jan. 10, 2024),” the video headline read.
There is no existing treaty between the Philippines and Japan that allows Japanese troops’ presence in the country.
The two governments are still negotiating a reciprocal access deal that would cover guidelines for Philippine military personnel visiting Japan for joint military training and vice versa, among others.
The RAA is similar to the Philippines’ existing Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, which governs the status of U.S. forces while in the country for joint military exercises, and allows access to PH camps on a rotational basis. It is not a permanent basing arrangement.
Under Section 25, Transitory Provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, no foreign troops shall be allowed in the country “except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate and, when the Congress so requires, ratified by a majority of the votes cast by the people in a national referendum held for that purpose, and recognized as a treaty by the other contracting State.”
In a Dec .21 interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said he hopes the final draft of the RAA would be finished within the first quarter of 2024. After it is signed by the president, it will be sent to the Senate for ratification.
Formal negotiations on the RAA were held in Tokyo on Nov. 29-30 last year, the Philippine News Agency reported. Last Dec. 17, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a bilateral meeting where both agreed to continue negotiations on the military agreement.
The video that carried a false headline was published by YouTube channel U.S. Military District (created on Jan. 1, 2016), and garnered a total of 68,807 views, 735 reactions, and 110 comments.
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