Agreement will bolster their military alliance amidst escalating maritime tensions in the Indo-Pacific and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
France and Japan have formalized plans to initiate discussions regarding a reciprocal troop access agreement, bolstering their military alliance amidst escalating maritime tensions in the Indo-Pacific and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Group of Seven (G7) allies have held numerous joint military exercises in recent years, bilaterally and as part of a wider group. Over the past year, France has been pushing for the commencement of negotiations on a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA).
RAAs serve as frameworks to streamline military collaboration, facilitating the entry of foreign personnel and equipment for visiting forces. The agreement was reached during the Prime Minister of Japan – Fumio Kishida’s official visit to France, where he met the President of France – Emmanuel Macron.
Taking it to X, the President of France – Emmanuel Macron tweeted (translated to English), “In strategic and defense matters, in the economic and industrial domain, in the Indo-Pacific, Japan and France are strengthening their cooperation. Dear Fumio, this cooperation demonstrates mutual trust between our two countries, I thank you” Original tweet in French:
En matière stratégique et de défense, dans le domaine économique et industriel, dans l'Indopacifique, le Japon et la France renforcent leur coopération.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 2, 2024
Cher Fumio, cette coopération témoigne d'une confiance mutuelle entre nos deux pays, je vous en remercie. pic.twitter.com/kqIbcWXSCS
The Official X handle of PM’s Office of Japan tweeted, “PM Kishida: I met with President Macron. We welcomed the steady implementation of the Roadmap on Japan-France Cooperation announced at the end of 2023 and the concrete development of our bilateral cooperation, and we took the decision to launch negotiations.”
It further tweeted, “On a Japan-France Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA). Japan will continue to deepen its cooperation with France across a broad spectrum of fields, including security.”
The move is a step forward following a pledge that Macron and Kishida took in January 2023 for greater security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. That was the first official visit of Kishida to France since taking office.
Earlier in December 2023, Japan announced its biggest military build-up since World War II, a step away from its post-war pacifism. It has already signed RAAs with Australia and the United Kingdom (U.K.) and is negotiating a third RAA with the Philippines. Tokyo, which spent about two years negotiating the agreement with Australia and one year negotiating the one with Britain, hosts the biggest concentration of U.S. forces abroad. Besides, the deal with France could take about a year to conclude.
The RAA is important as Japan seeks to strengthen defence ties amid concerns about China, including its pressure on Taiwan, freedom of navigation in the region and trade disputes. It has also backed Ukraine in its war against Russia, saying it is vital to protect the rules-based international order.
However, France has territories in the Indo-Pacific and stations armed forces in the region, where it has sought to develop its presence. It wants to underscore how it can play a bigger role in Japan’s defence industry than it has in the civilian nuclear power sector.
Separately, France and Japan also signed a joint declaration of cooperation on critical minerals, while Macron and Kishida agreed to strengthen collaboration on economic security. They also discussed the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine and other developments in the Asia-Pacific region, including China and North Korea.
