Philippine, Japan ministers agree to further enhance defence partnership

By Mikhail Flores

MANILA (Reuters) - Japan and the Philippines agreed on Monday to further deepen defence ties in the face of an "increasingly severe" security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani said on Monday.

Nakatani met his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro in Manila for a meeting in which the two ministers tackled regional security issues, including the maritime situation in the East and South China Seas.

"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 to maintain peace and stability in Indo-Pacific," Nakatani said through a translator.

Nakatani said the Philippines and Japan have agreed to deepen cooperation on military exchanges, establish a high-level strategic dialogue among its military and deepen information sharing.

Security ties between the two U.S. allies have strengthened over the past two years as Japan and the Philippines share common concerns over China's increasingly assertive actions in the region.

Last year, Manila and Tokyo signed a landmark military pact allowing the deployment of their forces on each other's soil.

Japan and China have repeatedly faced off around uninhabited Japanese-administered islands that Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu.

The Philippines and China have also clashed frequently in the South China Sea around disputed shoals and atolls that fall inside Manila's exclusive economic zone.

Nakatani visited military bases in the northern Philippines on Sunday, including a naval station that houses a coastal radar that Japan donated as part of its 600 million yen ($4 million) security assistance in 2023.

Manila was one of the first recipients of Tokyo's official security assistance, a programme aimed at helping boost deterrence capabilities of partner countries.

In December, the two countries signed a second security deal in which Japan agreed to provide the Philippine navy rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) and additional coastal radar systems.

($1 = 149.29 yen)

(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by John Mair & Shri Navaratnam)