MANILA (UPDATED) — The Philippine government hopes to sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Japan by next year or earlier, an official of the National Security Council (NSC) said Monday.

NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said both Manila and Tokyo want to expedite the signing of the agreement, which is seen to greatly boost maritime cooperation between the two countries.

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Formal negotiations for the RAA began late November in Tokyo with a team from the Department of National Defense, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Justice representing the Philippines.

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Once signed, the RAA “will facilitate the procedures and set guidelines when Philippine forces visit Japan for training and joint exercises, and vice versa,” according to Malacañang.

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“So, talagang pinapamadali ng dalawang lider, ng ating Pangulong Bongbong Marcos at si Japanese Prime Minister itong pagne-negotiate nito. And I think the target is to have that signed next year or the earlier, the better," Malaya said.

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"Malaki ang pakinabang nito sa ating security, number one. At pangalawa sa ating disaster response,” the official added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., for his part, said he and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed that the RAA had to be finalized as soon as possible.

“I think both the Prime Minister [Fumio Kishida] and I agree ASAP. Lahat ito ay as soon as possible, yesterday if not sooner,” Marcos told reporters in Japan on Monday.

During their bilateral meeting on Sunday, Marcos stressed to Prime Minister Kishida the “extreme significance” of the said agreement.

If approved, the RAA, which is similar to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, will have a “big multiplier effect” on the capability of the Philippines in terms of defense, security, and disaster preparedness, said Marcos.

The chief executive, however, clarified that the timing of the RAA discussions between Philippines and Japan had nothing to do with the recent incidents in the West Philippine Sea involving the China Coast Guard, its maritime militia and the Filipino resupply vessels.

“It has been in the works for...way before that. Of course, the incidents in the past few couple of months has certainly sharpened our focus when it comes to that, but again that is one of the things that I am looking forward to,” Marcos said.

Aside from Japan, the Philippine government is also looking forward to have similar agreements with other countries.

“It has become a very important part of these trips that we take. Kahit halimbawa it we say, it is a plenary session, ang pinag-uusapan ay climate change, eh kaya kong lapitan kung sino man kasi baka naman pwede natin pag-usapan tungkol dito sa security issues sa South China Sea. This is one of the products of that,” Marcos said.

“We also have the same kind of negotiations or discussions with many other countries, so we will continue to do that para marami ang tumutulong sa atin sa problemang kinakaharap natin sa South China Sea,” he added.