Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro agreed Tuesday to strengthen their countries’ defense cooperation in response to China’s assertiveness in the East and South China seas.
“To deepen defense cooperation with the Philippines is of great significance for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Nakatani told reporters after the meeting on the sidelines of an annual multilateral security forum in South Korea.
It was their first meeting since June in Singapore where they discussed Japan’s export of retired Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers to the Philippines.
Also in June, Japan’s parliament approved legislation for a defense agreement with the Philippines to facilitate exercises and disaster response between their forces.
The reciprocal access agreement, slated to take effect later this week, is the third such deal for Japan, following agreements with Australia and Britain.
The Philippines has procured air surveillance radar systems from Japan in a bid to boost its defense capabilities in the face of China’s activities in the South China Sea. Manila and Beijing have clashed over their overlapping claims in the area.
Japan, for its part, has seen Chinese vessels repeatedly entering its waters around the China-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
