Concerns about China’s maritime assertiveness have led to a steady strategic collaboration between Japan and the Philippines.
More specifically, the two countries agreed to bolster security cooperation and expand joint military drills to counter China’s maritime assertiveness, according to their defence ministers.
Namely, during a meeting in Tokyo, defence Minister Kishi Nobuo and his Philippine counterpart, Delfin Lorenzana, reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and strengthening a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” and said that attempts to change the status quo by force were “unacceptable.”
In addition, Mr. Kishi reportedly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, describing it as “unquestionably a unilateral change of status quo by coercion and a clear violation of international law.”
What is more, last month, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) announced that Chinese vessels had maneuverer dangerously close to PCG vessels on at least four occasions over the past year near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
In particular, the PCG reported “a close distance manoeuvring” incident involving a Chinese Coast Guard vessel during a maritime patrol operation close to Scarborough Shoal on March 2.
A few years ago, the two countries signed a strategic partnership in 2011 and in February 2016, brokered a new defence agreement allowing the transfer of defence equipment and technology from Japan to the Philippines.
In August 2020, the two nations agreed to the Philippines’ purchase of a warning and control radar system developed by Mitsubishi Electric. In their last meeting, Kishi and Lorenzana agreed to enhance these transfers of defence equipment and technology between the two countries.