A top Philippine general has said he expects the Self-Defense Forces’ involvement in both bilateral and multilateral activities to grow substantially, following the SDF’s limited participation in large-scale military activities that wrapped up last week.

Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Michael Logico, who was involved in managing the latest iteration of the Balikatan U.S.-Philippine drills, said in an exclusive interview with The Japan Times that he expects ties to surge even further once the Japanese parliament ratifies a key visiting-forces agreement with Manila.

“As soon as we have the implementing arrangements of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), we will involve the Japanese in the concept development for upcoming exercises as early as next month," Logico said.