Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., centre, meets Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani, third left, and his Philippine counterpart Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, second right, during a courtesy visit inside Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
Japan and the Philippines agreed on Monday (February 24, 2025) to further deepen their defence collaboration and talk about protecting shared military information in the face of mutual alarm over China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the region.
Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, forged the agreements in a meeting in Manila where their concern over China’s actions in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea was high in the agenda.
Also Read | Japan, Philippines sign defence pact in the face of shared alarm over China
Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States, and the three have been among the most vocal critics of China’s assertive actions in the region, including in the contested waters.
At the opening of his meeting with Gen Nakatani, Mr. Teodoro said the Philippines was looking forward to boosting defence relations with Japan “against unilateral attempts by China and other countries to change the international order and the narrative”.
Gen Nakatani said after the meeting that he agreed with Mr. Teodoro “to strengthen operational cooperation”, including joint and multinational defense trainings, port calls and information-sharing.
“We also agreed to commence discussion between defense authorities on military information protection mechanism,” Gen Nakatani said.
The Philippines signed an agreement with the United States, its longtime treaty ally, last year to better secure the exchange of highly confidential military intelligence and technology in key weapons to allow the sale of such weaponry by the U.S. to the Philippines.
Then-Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Mr. Teodoro signed the legally binding General Security of Military Information Agreement in Manila at a time when the U.S. and the Philippines were boosting their defence and military engagements, including large-scale joint combat drills, largely in response to China’s increasingly aggressive actions in Asia.
Also Read | Philippines protests over Beijing’s ‘escalatory actions’ in South China Sea
Gen Nakatani said that he and Mr. Teodoro “firmly concurred that the security environment surrounding us is becoming increasingly severe and that it is necessary for the two countries as strategic partners to further enhance defence cooperation and collaboration in order to maintain peace and stability in Indo-Pacific”.
Japan has had a longstanding territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea. Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships, meanwhile, have been involved in a series of increasingly hostile confrontations in the South China Sea in the last two years.
Also high in the agenda of Gen Nakatani and Mr. Teodoro, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press, was the “expansion of bilateral cooperation, especially in the context of the Reciprocal Access Agreement”.
Last year, Japan and the Philippines signed an agreement allowing the deployment of Japanese and Philippine forces for joint military and combat drills in each other’s territory. The Philippine Senate has ratified the agreement, and its expected ratification by Japan’s legislature would allow the agreement to take effect.
The agreement with the Philippines, which includes live-fire drills, is the first to be forged by Japan in Asia. Japan signed similar accords with Australia in 2022 and with Britain in 2023.
Japan has taken steps to boost its security and defensive firepower, including a counterstrike capability that breaks from the country’s postwar principle of focusing only on self-defence. It’s doubling defence spending in a five-year period to 2027 to bolster its military power.
Also Read | Chinese navy helicopter flies within 10 feet of Philippine patrol plane over disputed shoal
Many of Japan’s Asian neighbours, including the Philippines, came under Japanese aggression until its defeat in World War II, and Tokyo’s efforts to strengthen its military role and spending could be a sensitive issue.
Japan and the Philippines, however, have steadily deepened defence and security ties largely due to concerns over Chinese aggression in the region.
Published – February 24, 2025 01:10 pm IST