Japan, Philippines leaders vow to deepen security ties

MANILA – The leaders of Japan and the Philippines pledged on April 29 to deepen security ties, including increased intelligence sharing, as they grapple with their nations’ territorial disputes with China.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, on his first visit to the Philippines since assuming office in October 2024, said he and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr opposed “attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea by force or coercion”.

Japan and the Philippines have previously signed a visiting forces agreement, which has been ratified by the Philippine Senate, allowing them to station troops on each other’s soil.

“We agreed to start negotiations on an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement,” Mr Ishiba said after his meeting with Mr Marcos.

Such deals have typically involved the transfer of military supplies and services.

“We also confirmed the start of government-to-government talks towards sealing a security of information agreement in the future,” Mr Ishiba said.

Praising a “golden age” in relations, Mr Marcos said Tokyo’s previous security assistance “allowed our security agencies, and especially the Department of National Defence, to achieve meaningful upgrades”.

Both the Philippines and Japan have taken a strong line against what they see as an increasingly assertive China in the South China Sea and concern over tension across the Taiwan Strait.

Japan, which announced in 2023 its biggest military build-up since World War II in a step away from post-war pacifism, does not have any claims to the busy waterway. But it has a separate maritime dispute with China in the East China Sea, where the neighbours have repeatedly faced off.

Mr Ishiba’s visit to Manila also coincides with Japan’s participation in

ongoing military exercises

alongside Philippine and US forces. 

“With the increasingly severe security environment in the region, the relationship with the United States, an ally of both our countries, is becoming even more important,” Mr Ishiba said.

On the economic front, Mr Ishiba said he and Mr Marcos talked about the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz.

“We discussed the current measures taken by the United States, as well as the impact felt on... the world economy, because of the reciprocal retaliation seen between the United States and China,” he said.

While hit with a “reciprocal” levy of 17 per cent, the Philippines ranks among

“the least hit”

regionally by the tariffs and played up the opportunity that presents.

Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Roque was scheduled to leave on April 29 for talks in the US that will reportedly focus heavily on the tariff issue. AFP, REUTERS