Amid China’s growing presence in the Indo-Pacific region, the Japanese and Philippine defense ministers said on Thursday that they would strengthen security cooperation by holding joint exercises.
The deal reached in Tokyo between Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and his Philippine counterpart Delfin Lorenzana comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked fears about the region’s implications.
The Japanese Defense Ministry said Kishi and Lorenzana reiterated the significance of preserving and strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific, adding that attempts to change the status quo by force are “unacceptable.”
“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine since February is unquestionably a unilateral change of status quo by coercion and a clear violation of international law,” Kishi said.
Lorenzana answered by noting that prior joint drills between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine military had demonstrated “both nations’ dedication and determination to develop our entire bilateral defense cooperation further.”
Their talks took place two days before the “two-plus-two” security talks, including the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Before Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte’s single six-year term, during which he has pushed rapprochement with China, concludes in late June, the first security summit of its sort between Tokyo and Manila will take place.
“The Philippines is an island nation like Japan, a coastal state in the South China Sea, and an ally of the United States like Japan. We consider it a significant country,” Kishi told reporters.
Philippines, Japan to conduct joint military exercises
The defense chiefs also agreed to expand Japan-Philippine defense cooperation in equipment and technology.
In 2020, the two countries agreed that Mitsubishi Electric Corp. of Japan would sell air radar systems to the Philippines’ military forces.
In the South China Sea, where Beijing establishes military installations on artificial islands, the Philippines and China have overlapping territorial claims.
China has also dispatched ships to the East China Sea seas near the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims and refers to as Diaoyu.
As China stretches its muscles beyond what it considers the “first island chain,” the Philippines is geopolitically significant for Japan.
The island chain is a Chinese defense line that stretches from China’s east coast to Japan’s Okinawa, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The chain includes the Senkaku Islands, a collection of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea.
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