The Philippines and Japan agreed on Thursday to negotiate an intelligence sharing agreement, as the two nations draw closer under the increasing shadow of China’s naval ambitions.
Visiting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also said they would upgrade their ties to bolster security and economic cooperation.
“At today’s meeting, regarding national security, we agreed to begin formal negotiations on the General Security of Military Information Agreement,” Takaichi told a news conference following talks with Marcos.
Japan already has such an agreement with its partners the United States, Australia and South Korea to protect shared military secrets.
Takaichi said she had agreed with Marcos to “elevate our bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership”.
“This reflects our shared determination to continue strengthening our ties as like-minded nations… that will continue even in the changing international environment,” she said.
Marcos hailed “very important steps to further strengthen our defence cooperation and to uphold a rules-based maritime order”.
The two countries’ shared grievances over Chinese maritime territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years, with Tokyo supplying coast guard ships and radar systems.
Japan and China are in territorial and economic disputes in the East China Sea, where coastguard ships from both sides routinely stage dangerous standoffs.
In the South China Sea, Beijing has deployed navy and coast guard vessels in a bid to bar the Philippines from strategically important reefs and islands, leading to a string of confrontations.
Source: Insider Paper
