Japan and the Philippines sign a defense pact in the face of shared alarm over China
Japan and the Philippines have signed a defense pact allowing Japanese forces to deploy in the Southeast Asian country for joint military exercises, including live-fire drills
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Japan and the Philippines signed a key defense pact Monday allowing the deployment of Japanese forces for joint drills in the Southeast Asian nation that came under brutal Japanese occupation in World War II but is now building an alliance with Tokyo as both face an increasingly assertive China.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement, which similarly allows Filipino forces to enter Japan for joint combat training, was signed by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in a Manila ceremony witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It would take effect after ratification by the countries’ legislatures, Philippine and Japanese officials said.
Kamikawa called the signing “a groundbreaking achievement" that should further boost defense cooperation between the countries.
The Japanese and Philippine officials “expressed serious concern over the dangerous and escalatory actions by China” in Second Thomas Shoal, the scene of a recent confrontation between Chinese and Philippine forces in the South China Sea. The busy sea passage is a key global trade route which has been claimed virtually in its entirety by China but also contested in part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
