Japan and Philippine defense chiefs agree to start talks on weapons pact

Japan and Philippines Strengthen Defense Ties Amid Rising Tensions with China

Defense ministers from Japan and the Philippines voiced renewed concerns on Tuesday over China’s increasingly aggressive actions in contested waters, agreeing to begin negotiations on a weapons transfer agreement that would allow Tokyo to provide used naval destroyers to Manila.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi met separately with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro Jr., and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila to expand defense cooperation between the two nations, both key treaty allies of the United States.

“Secretary Teodoro and I reaffirmed our strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea and the South China Sea,” Koizumi told reporters following closed-door discussions with Teodoro.

In a joint statement, both defense chiefs expressed “serious concern” over China’s intensifying “coercive activities” in these disputed maritime regions. Chinese officials have not immediately responded to these remarks, though Beijing has previously accused the Philippines of allowing Western powers, particularly the United States, to “gang up” against China and impede its regional influence.

The high-level meetings coincide with preparations for a significant military exercise. On Wednesday, Koizumi will join representatives from 17 nations, including India and Australia, traveling to Paoay in northwestern Philippines for the annual Balikatan combat drill. The exercise will feature a mock allied assault where U.S., Philippine, Japanese, and Canadian forces will sink a ship approximately 40 kilometers off the Philippine coast.

The location for this live-fire exercise faces the South China Sea, a strategic waterway claimed almost entirely by Beijing but also contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. Confrontations between Chinese and Filipino maritime forces have escalated dramatically in recent years, raising international concerns about potential armed conflict.

During the Paoay drills, Japanese forces will fire two volleys of Type 88 missiles to sink a decommissioned World War II-era Philippine navy vessel, according to Philippine marine Col. Dennis Hernandez. President Marcos plans to observe the live-fire exercises via video from Manila.

This deepening military cooperation follows the signing of a Reciprocal Access Agreement between the Philippines and Japan in 2024, which enabled the deployment of 1,400 Japanese military personnel to become regular participants in the Balikatan exercises. The name “Balikatan,” meaning “shoulder-to-shoulder” in Tagalog, reflects the cooperative spirit of these annual drills designed to prepare for security contingencies and counter China’s growing regional assertiveness.

The defense talks also explored potential transfers of military equipment. The negotiations could lead to the Philippines acquiring up to six used Japanese destroyers of the Abukuma-class, which would significantly enhance Manila’s maritime patrol capabilities and ability to detect aerial, surface, and undersea threats.

This potential transfer became possible after Japan scrapped its ban on lethal weapons exports on April 21, representing another major shift in its postwar pacifist policy. Japan has also bolstered its offensive capabilities with long-range missiles, a significant departure from its post-World War II principle limiting the use of force to self-defense.

While allies led by the U.S. and Australia have welcomed Japan’s updated defense posture, China has criticized these changes. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated last month that the global community “will resolutely resist Japan’s reckless moves toward a new type of militarism.”

Japan and China maintain separate territorial disputes over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, further complicating regional tensions.

Before arriving in the Philippines, Koizumi visited Jakarta, where he signed a defense cooperation agreement with Indonesia’s Defense Secretary Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, indicating Japan’s broader efforts to strengthen security partnerships throughout Southeast Asia amid rising regional tensions.