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Pie Lee-Brago - The Philippine Star
January 16, 2026 | 12:00am
Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi signed in Manila the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA).
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Japan signed yesterday defense agreements, including one allowing their forces to resupply fuel, ammunition and other necessities during joint training and operations.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi signed in Manila the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA).
ACSA establishes a framework and settlement procedures for the reciprocal provision of supplies and services between the militaries of the two countries.
The agreement will facilitate the smooth and prompt provision of supplies and services between the two countries’ militaries and promote their closer cooperation, and enable them to actively contribute to peace and security of the international community.
Lazaro and her counterpart also signed and exchanged notes for the Official Security Assistance (OSA) from Japan, amounting to 900 million Japanese yen (approximately P341 million) in support of the Philippines’ initiative to modernize the capabilities of its armed forces.
It is the first infrastructure project under Japan’s OSA program, which involves construction of boathouses and slipways for rigid-hulled inflatable boats for the Philippine Navy.
They welcomed the arrival last Wednesday of coastal radar systems provided through the first OSA project for the Philippines.
“The Philippines faces important sea lanes including the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait and plays an important role in regional security. Moreover, the Philippines is a strategic partner with which Japan is further strengthening relations towards realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” the Japanese foreign ministry said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kitamura Toshihiro said “with the security environment, which is very unstable and challenging, we have initiated new assistance called OSA.”
“For the Philippines, increasing the capacity of maritime domain awareness, maritime security is important. That’s why we have a newly established assistance system called OSA,” Kitamura said at a briefing.
“Driven by shared values and principles the Philippines and Japan have worked together bilaterally and multilaterally with like-minded states to enforce our positions and broaden our capacities amidst the dynamic security environment of today,” Lazaro said.
The officials also signed the 1.63 billion yen (roughly P617 million) grant aid for the establishment of Wireless Broadband Connectivity for Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi or BaSulTa.
Japan has been providing support to promote peace, stability, development and growth in Mindanao for many years.
“The signing of the three agreements reflect the close and evolving collaboration between the Philippines and Japan under our Strengthened Strategic Partnership, and support ongoing collaboration across priority areas of the relationship,” Lazaro said.
