MANILA, Philippines — The foreign department announced on Friday that Japan and the Philippines will hold high-level defense and security talks the following month as both countries look to strengthen their alliances in the face of growing regional pressure from China.
A department statement states that on July 8, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and military Minister Minoru Kihara will meet in Manila to talk about “bilateral and defense and security issues affecting the region.”
Beijing is stepping up its claims over almost the whole South China Sea, prompting these talks in reaction to the growing naval clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels.
Another source of tension in the area is the dispute between China and Japan over islands in the East China Sea that Japan controls.
Negotiating an agreement on security that would permit troop deployments on each other’s territory, Japan and the Philippines hope to strengthen their defense alliance.
As part of Manila’s campaign to defend its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Japan is also helping to modernize the Philippine Coast Guard’s fleet.
Japan’s maritime self-defense force, along with the US, Australia, and the Philippines, conducted joint air and naval drills in April in the key waterway. In order to demonstrate their “shared commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” these drills were conducted.
