By Prashanth Parameswaran
The two strategic partners take another step towards boosting their security ties.
Japan and the Philippines held their first joint naval exercises in the South China Sea on Tuesday.
According to media reports, following a port call, two Japanese destroyers and a Philippine warship participated in a maritime safety exercise to the west of Manila in the South China Sea. It involved some 600 Japanese personnel on the two navy destroyers – JS Harusame and Amigiri – engaging in a “passing exercise” with some 100 Philippine navy complement of the Filipino warship BRP Ramon Alcaraz as well as a Philippine helicopter landing on one of the Japanese ships.
The exercise is part of a broader effort by Japan and the Philippines to boost their defense relationship amid growing anxiety about Beijing’s actions in the maritime domain and Japan’s increased engagement with Southeast Asia under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. As I have noted previously, Tokyo and Manila have been building on the security side of a strategic partnership first inked in 2011 in recent months, including signing a memorandum of understanding in January when Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin paid a three-day visit to Tokyo (a visit which I covered here). Japan is also supplying patrol boats and coastguard vessels to the Philippines, as I reported on here. The two countries also held anti-piracy drills earlier this month, while Tokyo is also mulling joint patrols in the South China Sea with Washington.
Read the full story at The Diplomat