ETEMAAD | Published February 25, 2025
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SOURCE: www.en.etemaaddaily.com
RELATED: Japan, Philippines strengthen defense ties amid ‘increasingly severe’ regional security situation
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. meet the press for a joint statement after the Bilateral Defense Ministerial meeting at Makati City, Metro Manila, Feb. 24, 2025.
BENAR NEWS | Published February 25, 2025
Manila is shoring up military partnerships with other nations as it seeks to counter Beijing in a South China Sea dispute.
The defense chiefs of Japan and the Philippines agreed to boost bilateral military ties over mutual concerns driven by an “increasingly severe” security situation in their respective territorial disputes with China.
The two officials met amid a flurry of visits to Manila in recent days by foreign allies and new partners in broadened military cooperation with the Philippines. These included a visit by Adm. Samuel Paparo, the top U.S. military officer in the Pacific, and a port-of-call by the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its carrier group.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani arrived in Manila over the weekend, two months after the Philippine Senate ratified a new defense treaty with Tokyo, whose military forces had occupied the Philippines during World War II.
“[Philippine Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr.] and I firmly concurred that the security environment surrounding us is becoming increasingly severe and that it is necessary for the two countries as strategic partners to further enhance defense cooperation and collaboration in order to maintain peace and stability in Indo-Pacific amid such a situation,” Nakatani said during a joint press conference with Teodoro in Manila on Monday.
Both Manila and Tokyo should “deepen bilateral cooperation” with a sense of expediency, Nakatani said.
Teodoro said Nakatani’s two-day trip was meant to advance bilateral defense engagements after the Philippines ratified the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA). It allows for larger-scale joint military drills and paves the way for military personnel to take part in security operations, including coordinated security patrols.
The pact, however, still has to be ratified by the Japanese parliament before both nations “get to the ground running at full speed,” Teodoro said.
“This meeting was an exchange of views on regional security issues on the Indo-Pacific, the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea and most importantly on our shared initiatives moving forward, not only on bilateral security enhancements, but also in promoting a sustainable, economically beneficial and defense-sustained defense industry partnership,” Teodoro said.
“This meeting was an exchange of views on regional security issues on the Indo-Pacific, the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea and most importantly on our shared initiatives moving forward, not only on bilateral security enhancements, but also in promoting a sustainable, economically beneficial and defense-sustained defense industry partnership,” Teodoro said.
Both Manila and Tokyo agreed to boost operational cooperation, start a strategic dialogue between “high-level operational action officers” and deepen information sharing, Nakatani said.
“WI’me also agreed to commence discussion between defense authorities on military information protection mechanisms,” he also said.
A French sailor is seen aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the port of Subic, Zambales province, Philippines, Feb. 23, 2025. (Jeoffrey Maitem/BenarNews)
Nakatani visited two key Philippine military sites in the north of Luzon, the main Philippine island, including Basa Air Base.
Basa is one of the nine Philippine military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between Manila and its long-time defense ally, Washington.
First signed in 2014, the EDCA allows the U.S. military to build and operate facilities inside Philippine bases for use by American and Filipino forces. While the United States is barred from establishing permanent bases here, analysts said the pact has allowed some flexibility in cooperation – including the hosting of the Typhon mid-range missile system – raising strong protests from China.
The EDCA supplemented the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, which provides legal cover for large-scale joint military drills in the Philippines between the two long-time allies.
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SOURCE: www.benarnews.org
RELATED: PH, Japan boost security ties amid rise of China
DEEPER COOPERATION Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (right) meets with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani on Monday to discuss deeper security cooperation between the Philippines and Japan. —DND photo
THE PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER| Published February 25, 2025
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Japan have agreed to establish a high-level dialogue to expand defense exports from Tokyo and start talks on protecting shared military information amid their common concerns over China’s increasing maritime aggression in the region.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani met in Manila on Monday for their first bilateral defense meeting.
Nakatani, who took office in October, is in his second tenure as defense minister after last serving in 2015.
Part of the discussions included the security situation in the East and South China seas, where both the Philippines and Japan have territorial disputes with China.
China claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, and its coast guard ships have acted aggressively against Philippine vessels near disputed shoals and atolls that fall inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone.
Japan and China have also repeatedly faced off around uninhabited Japanese-administered islands that Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu.
At the start of the talks, Teodoro said he looked forward to a resilient partnership with Japan to guard against “unilateral attempts by China and other countries to change the international order and the narrative.”
Nakatani, for his part, said the regional security environment has become “increasingly severe,” calling on both countries as strategic partners to further boost defense cooperation.
Strategic talks
The two officials agreed to start discussions between senior officials and defense industry representatives to further enhance cooperation “in a mutually beneficial manner,” according to Nakatani.
Security ties between Japan and the Philippines, both close US allies, have deepened in recent years amid China’s increasing military activities.
Tokyo’s only export to Manila was an air surveillance radar system built by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. as part of a P5.5-billion deal signed in 2020.
The Philippines is in the third phase of its military modernization program, where it seeks to build up its military in the next decade with more equipment, including missiles, fighter jets, and frigates.
Nakatani said they also agreed to start a “strategic dialogue” between high-level military officials on deeper information sharing and protecting military information “in order to elevate bilateral cooperation.”
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