Japan cooperating with Philippines, US to protect South China Sea, says PM Kishida
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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the Philippine Congress "the trilateral cooperation to protect the freedom" of the South China Sea is under way.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MANILA – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Saturday his country, the Philippines and the United States were cooperating to protect the freedom of the South China Sea as he committed to help enhance Manila’s security capabilities.
“In the South China Sea, the trilateral cooperation to protect the freedom of the sea is under way,” Mr Kishida, who is on an official visit, said in an address before the Philippine Congress in Manila.
Mr Kishida met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday, and the two leaders agreed to start negotiations on a reciprocal troop access deal to strengthen military cooperation amid an increasingly assertive China.
Both the Philippines and Japan, two of the US’ closest Asian allies, have taken a strong line against what they see as aggressive behaviour by Chinese vessels amid decades-old disputes over maritime sovereignty.
In October, China and the Philippines traded accusations over a collision in the disputed waters of the South China Sea
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China's claims had no legal basis.
Japan does not have any claim to the South China Sea, but has a separate maritime dispute with China in the East China Sea.
“Japan will continue to contribute to the enhancement of the Philippines’ security capabilities, thereby contributing to regional peace and stability,” Mr Kishida said.
Japan in March observed US-Philippine military drills, and in June, the Philippine and Japanese coast guards trained together for the first time.
“Through these efforts, let us protect the maritime order, which is governed by laws and rules, not by force,” said Mr Kishida, who in December unveiled Japan’s biggest military build-up
Mr Kishida said Japan agreed to provide the Philippines with coastal surveillance radars, the first cooperation project in the world under its Official Security Assistance (OSA) programme, aimed at helping boost deterrence capabilities of Tokyo’s partner countries.
The radars will be placed in five separate areas along the Philippines coast, Kyodo news reported on Saturday citing an unnamed Japanese senior government official.
The report said the radars would be a fixed type and used by the Filipino navy for coastal surveillance, but did not give further details on where the radars would be placed.
Mr Kishida made a stop at the Philippine Coast Guard on Saturday before leaving Manila to head to Malaysia. REUTERS
