Envoy: Philippines-Japan defense cooperation to ensure long-term regional stability

The new defense treaty between the Philippines and Japan could help stabilize a region beset by China’s “rapid and opaque military buildup,” Tokyo’s ambassador to Manila said. 

The so-called Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), which Manila and Tokyo signed in July and which the Philippine Senate ratified last month, allows the two allied nations to deploy troops on each other’s soil for military exercises. 

Both countries face separate territorial challenges from China.

“The security landscape both regionally and globally has grown increasingly complex and unpredictable,” Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya told a forum organized by the Stratbase Institute, a think-tank based in Manila, on Friday.

The envoy addressed the forum ahead of a phone call scheduled for the weekend between the leaders of Japan, the Philippines and the United States and an upcoming visit to Manila by the Japanese foreign minister.  

The RAA pact – which will take effect once Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signs off on it and Japan’s legislature ratifies it – is the first of its kind signed by Tokyo with another Asian country. 

“As Japan and the Philippines face similar maritime challenges, we as natural and key strategic partners are not only responding to the evolving complexities of regional security, but also building a framework that supports long-term stability and growth,” Kazuya said. 

RELATED STORIES HERE

Philippines ratifies defense pact with Japan, amid China tensions

Philippines, US, Japan stage joint naval maneuvers in South China Sea

Analysts: Philippines-US-Japan summit opportunity to solidify security alliance in South China Sea

Philippine, Japanese warships conduct joint exercises in South China Sea

In China’s shadow, Philippines and Japan sign groundbreaking defense pact

He also cited China’s “escalating and serious military provocations” as well as its alignment with Russia and North Korea.

“Since assuming my post in Manila last March, the South China Sea remains a flashpoint of heightened tensions,” Kazuya said. “To face these severe and complex security challenges, we must redouble our current efforts.”

The RAA also allows for larger-scale joint military drills and paves the way for military personnel of both countries to take part in security operations, such as coordinated maritime patrols.

Japan, unlike the Philippines, does not have territorial claims that overlap with China’s expansive ones in the South China Sea. But Tokyo has a separate dispute with Beijing over a group of uninhabited islands in the Senkaku chain (also known as the Diaoyu Islands) in the East China Sea.

Kazuya’s assessment came ahead of a scheduled telephone call on Jan. 12 between Marcos, his outgoing American counterpart Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. 

The three are expected to discuss regional security to further trilateral cooperation, which the three countries had initially agreed to during a meeting at the White House in April last year.

In December, the navies of the three nations staged joint maneuvers in the South China Sea, just days after Chinese coast guard and navy ships allegedly harassed Filipinos near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Next week, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi will be in Manila for a two-day official visit as both Tokyo and Manila improve defense and bilateral cooperation, Kazuya said. 

Tokyo has already committed to continue supporting Manila’s military modernization, Kazuya said, by providing advanced identification system equipment for the navy and advanced surveillance system to the air force.

The Philippines last month received a grant of 1.6 billion Japanese yen (U.S. $10.5 million) from Japan to improve its maritime and air defenses.

Prospects moving forward

Last Jan. 1, China sent its biggest ship – the world’s largest coast guard vessel known as “The Monster” – to Scarborough, a South China Sea feature that lies within Manila’s exclusive economic zone but is under Beijing’s de facto control.

In June 2024, Beijing vessels blocked Philippine Navy personnel from reaching a dilapidated ship that serves as the Philippines’ outpost in the South China Sea region.

Filipino security analyst Chester Cabalza believes that Beijing is also feeling the mounting geopolitical pressure due to the territorial disputes. 

This includes, he said, the United States’ position on protecting Taiwan from a potential Chinese invasion.

“And I think that is something that we have to decipher, what kind of Chinese policies that we would want to pursue in 2025 and beyond,” he told the forum, adding that trilateral arrangements such as those among the Philippines, Japan and the U.S. would “add value to defense relationships.”

“And I hope that other countries in the region will do the same thing,” said Cabalza, head of the International Development and Security Cooperation think-tank.

The trilateral arrangement would lead to “a very comprehensive set of commitments among the three nations, not only on the security front, but actually on the economic front as well,” according to Rommel Jude Ong, a retired Philippine Navy rear admiral. 

At Friday’s forum, Ong argued that other countries should also come together and formulate a common maritime strategy in handling territorial disputes with China.

“We need one maritime strategy. Just exchange of information is not sufficient,” Ong said.

“It cannot be just Japan and the Philippines plus one. It needs to be Japan-Philippines plus three. The plus three would be South Korea, Australia, and the elephant in the room, Taiwan.”