Bangkok, July 8 (EFE).- The Philippine and Japanese governments signed a military cooperation agreement Monday, which will allow the deployment of their troops in their respective countries, amid growing tensions with China in the Indo-Pacific region.
The pact, sealed during the visit to Manila of Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Foreign Affairs Minister Yoko Kamikawa, will allow both countries to deploy troops for the development of exercises and training maneuvers.
This would facilitate the participation of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in the annual Balikatan military exercises, in which Japan so far participates as an observer, alongside Philippine and American troops.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who witnessed the signing, spoke of “the hard work” of both countries to reach this defense pact and praised “the trust and importance” it brings to both governments, during a courtesy visit prior to the ceremony.
The agreement allows “to maintain and strengthen the free and open international order based on the rule of law,” Kamikawa said.
Both countries, historical allies of the United States, have made progress in recent months on their defense ties against an increasingly assertive China.
Negotiations for this agreement began in February 2023 following Marcos Jr.’s visit to Japan and gained pace with the official trip of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in November.
The Philippines and China have a growing sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea, where Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims.
In recent months, clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels have multiplied, mainly around the Scarborough and Second Thomas atolls, where Philippine fishermen go to fish.
One of the most tense incidents took place on Jun. 17 in waters adjacent to Second Thomas Atoll, when Chinese Coast Guard personnel surrounded and boarded a Philippine ship. The vessel was carrying out a supply mission to the military detachment that the Philippines has on the Sierra Madre ship, deliberately stranded in 1999 to reinforce its territorial claim.
Tensions between China and the Philippines have increased since the rise to power of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022, who has strengthened his military alliance with the US and expanded access to its bases for US troops, including some strategic access to the South China Sea and Taiwan.
Tokyo and Beijing also have disagreements over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea. EFE
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