Japan and the Philippines sign a defense pact in the face of shared alarm over China

[Pelican Press 0]

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Japan and the Philippines sign a defense pact in the face of shared alarm over China

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Japan and the Philippines signed

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Monday allowing the deployment of ********* forces for ****** military exercises, including live-***** drills, to the Southeast ****** nation that came under brutal ********* occupation in World War II but is now building an alliance with Tokyo as they face an increasingly assertive China.

The

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, which similarly allows ********* forces to enter Japan for ****** combat training, was signed by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and ********* Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in a Manila ceremony witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It would take effect after ratification by the countries’ legislatures, Philippine and ********* officials said.

Kamikawa called the signing of the defense agreement “a groundbreaking achievement” that should further boost defense cooperation between Japan and the Philippines.

“A free and open international order based on the rule of law is the foundation of regional peace and prosperity,” she said. “We would like to work closely with your country to maintain and strengthen this.”

Kamikawa and ********* Defense Minister Minoru Kihara later held talks with their Philippine counterparts on ways to further deepen relations.

The defense pact with the Philippines is the first to be forged by Japan in Asia. Japan signed similar accords with

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and

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.

Under Prime Minister

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, the ********* government has taken steps to

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, including a counterstrike capability that breaks from Japan’s postwar principle of focusing only on self-defense, amid threats from North Korea and China’s growing assertiveness. It’s doubling defense spending in a five-year ******* to 2027 in a move to bolster its military power and make Japan the world’s third-biggest military spender after the ******* States and China.

Many of Japan’s ****** neighbors, including the Philippines, came under ********* aggression until its defeat in World War II and Japan’s efforts to bolster its military role and spending could be

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. Japan and the Philippines, however, have steadily deepened defense and security ties.

Kishida’s moves dovetail with Marcos’ effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend Manila’s territorial interests in the South China Sea. The busy sea passage is a key global trade route which has been claimed virtually in its entirety by China

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in part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

The ******* States has also been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan, and reassure its ****** allies. Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the U.S. and their leaders held three-way talks in April at the White House, where President Biden renewed

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to defend Japan and the Philippines.

Japan has had a longstanding

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over islands in the East China Sea. ******** and Philippine coast guard and navy ships, meanwhile, have been involved in a series of tense confrontations in the South China Sea since last year.

In the

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so far, ******** coast guard personnel armed with knives, spears and an axe aboard motorboats repeatedly rammed and destroyed two Philippine navy supply vessels on June 17 in a chaotic faceoff in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal that injured several ********* sailors. ******** coast guard personnel seized seven navy rifles.

The Philippines strongly protested the ******** coast guard’s actions and demanded $1 million for the damage and the return of the rifles. China accused the Philippines of instigating the *********, saying the ********* sailors strayed into what it called ******** territorial waters despite warnings.

Japan and the ******* States were among the first to express alarm over the ******** actions and call on Beijing to abide by international laws. Washington is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if ********* forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed *******, including in the South China Sea.

___

Nuga reported from Bangkok. Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila in Manila contributed to this report.

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#Japan #Philippines #sign #defense #pact #face #shared #alarm #China

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