Japan and the Philippines yesterday agreed to start talks toward a possible defense agreement that would allow closer cooperation between their militaries amid regional tensions with China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi and Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi, along with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr and Philippine Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana, in their first so-called “2+2” security meeting agreed to begin formal discussions about a possible reciprocal access agreement — a pact that would allow their troops to visit each other’s countries for training, and to exchange defense equipment to increase interoperability and cooperation.
Japan and the Philippines, both US allies, have in the past few years stepped up joint exercises and defense cooperation. In 2020, Tokyo and Manila agreed on the export of Japanese air radar systems to the Philippine military.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The four ministers strongly opposed “actions that may increase tensions” in the East and South China seas, and affirmed their commitment to a rules-based approach to resolving competing claims under international law.
They also said that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine affects Europe and Asia under an international order that does not accept any unilateral change to internationally recognized borders by force.
Although it was implied that China was their main concern, they carefully avoided identifying it by name.
“We agreed that it’s timely to look into the possibility of further expanding our defense cooperation and activities” and to explore ways to conduct capacity and capability building activity “to address issues of mutual concern,” Lorenzana told a joint news conference after the talks.
Kishi said the first “2+2” meeting marks “the beginning of the two countries’ efforts toward further deepening their security ties.”
Japan in January signed a defense cooperation pact with Australia, the first such agreement for Canberra other than with the US.
Japan in the past few years has significantly expanded security talks and joint drills with the US and other partners that share its concerns about China’s assertion of its territorial claims in the region, which is home some of the world’s busiest sea lanes.
Japan is especially concerned about Chinese military and coast guard activity in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan.
Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have been locked in an increasingly tense territorial standoff in the busy South China Sea waterway for decades.
Yesterday’s agreement came one day after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that Beijing and Manila have handled their South China Sea disputes properly, and that “regional security cannot be achieved by strengthening military alliances,” Xinhua said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS