Philippines, Japan Explore Defense Pact Amid China Tensions

Cliff Venzon and Isabel Reynolds
·3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines and Japan agreed to begin discussions on mutual military visits and strengthened security ties with the US amid heightened tensions with China over disputed waters.

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“A decision was made to start negotiations on a reciprocal access agreement and agreed to further strengthen trilateral cooperation among Japan, the United States and the Philippines,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a joint briefing with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday.

Japan, a key defense partner for the Philippines, also agreed to provide patrol vessels and defense equipment to help boost Manila’s maritime law enforcement capabilities, said Kishida, who’s in the Southeast Asian nation for a two-day official visit.

“We share the serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea and that attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force is unacceptable,” he said. Marcos said the proposed visiting forces agreement with Japan will be beneficial to both “our defense and military personnel and to maintaining peace and stability in our region.”

Japan also agreed to provide a coastal surveillance radar to the Philippines under a 600-million yen ($4 million) newly launched official security assistance grant, according to the two leaders. Helping the Philippine Navy monitor the South China Sea and Luzon Strait will be effective in ensuring the security of sea lanes that are also important to Japan, Tokyo’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Tensions in the South China Sea escalated this month after Philippine and Chinese vessels collided on two separate occasions when the Philippine ships were on a mission to deliver supplies to a military outpost in Second Thomas Shoal.

Government ships from Japan and China also seek to expel one another from waters around islands in the East China Sea near Taiwan claimed by both countries on a regular basis.

The day before Kishida’s visit, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced the delivery of the first of four radar units to the Philippines under a 2020 contract. The handover marks the first such transfer of domestically produced defense equipment since restrictions on their export were relaxed in 2014. Japan has also supplied ships to the Philippines’ coast guard.

Speaking before a special joint session of the Philippine Congress on Saturday, Kishida touched on the pardon of Japanese war criminals by the Southeast Asia nation’s president in 1953 that paved the way for both countries to build friendly relations after World War II and that has strengthened at all levels since then.

Kishida, who gave the first-ever speech by a Japanese premier to the Philippine Congress, said the trilateral cooperation with the US and the Philippines is underway to protect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea “governed by laws and rules, not by force.”

Japan is determined to “lead the international community toward cooperation rather than division and confrontation, and to defend freedom and the rule of law at all costs,” Kishida said, reiterating his country’s commitment to defend a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Kishida flies to Malaysia Saturday, where he will also seek to strengthen defense ties, according to documents distributed to reporters by Japan’s foreign ministry.

--With assistance from Ditas Lopez and Ian Sayson.

(Adds Kishida’s comments before Philippine Congress in 10th to 12th paragraphs)

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