Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers his speech at the House of Representative in Quezon city, Philippines, on Nov. 4. (Pool via Reuters)

Japan and the Philippines have agreed to enhance their security cooperation to a “quasi-alliance” level in an apparent move to counter increasingly assertive China.

Facing China’s aggressive maritime expansion, the two countries have a solid rationale for expressing unified opposition to any unilateral change in the status quo by force and collaborating in response to the security challenge.

However, the upgraded bilateral security cooperation must be anchored by contributing to regional peace and stability. The two nations should pursue balanced diplomatic efforts, including dialogue with China.

During the three-day weekend through Nov. 5, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the Philippines.

In their Nov. 3 meeting in Manila, Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to launch negotiations on a “reciprocal access agreement” for mutual deployments of troops for joint military drills and other security activities.

The deal would make it easier for Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to enter the Philippines and vice versa.

The Philippines would be the third country with which Japan has such an agreement following Australia and Britain, which Tokyo regards as “quasi-allies.”

Japan will also provide a coastal radar system worth 600 million yen ($3.99 million) to boost the Philippine Navy’s surveillance capabilities, making the Southeast Asian nation the first recipient of aid under Japan’s new Official Security Assistance (OSA) program.

The program is designed to provide defense equipment in grant aid to the militaries of “like-minded” developing countries.

Since Marcos’ visit to Japan in February, during which the two leaders confirmed their agreement to enhance bilateral security cooperation, both proposals were put into action in less than nine months.

Both countries share “serious concerns” over China’s activities in the East and South China Seas and are also close to Taiwan, which is facing growing intimidating pressure from China.

The Philippines has been increasingly alarmed by maritime confrontations with China, which remains its largest trading partner, in the South China Sea.

Manila’s concerns were heightened further last month by two incidents involving vessels belonging to China in disputed areas near the Spratly Islands, in which Chinese vessels collided with Philippine ships.

The Philippines also sits on an important sea lane that is a trade route vital to Japan. While it is crucial for the two nations to step up coordinated efforts to tackle common security challenges, they must be mindful not to fall into an excessively military-oriented approach, which could inadvertently escalate regional tensions.

In a historic first for a Japanese prime minister, Kishida addressed a joint session of the Philippine congress and emphasized the importance of “multilayered cooperation with allies and like-minded countries,” advocating the significance of three-nation security cooperation, including the United States, to counter China’s naval expansion.

Already, various actions have been taken in line with this strategy, such as the SDF’s participation in joint military exercises between the U.S. and the Philippine forces and the first joint drills among the maritime security agencies from the three countries.

The United States, which has been locked in a fierce and increasingly acrimonious rivalry with China over hegemony, finds it difficult to counter China alone and is working to build a network of regional allies and friends, including Australia, South Korea and India.

Instead of contributing to a hostile encirclement of China that would undermine regional stability, Japan and the Philippines, which have deep historical and economic ties with China, should play key roles in building an inclusive international order encompassing China as well.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 7

Related News